The joy of serving others

I took a group of kids to the Rescue Mission today and it “sucked” at first! Or at least the kids said so.

Whether it was miscommunication or pure old-fashioned forgetfulness, the organization was not ready for us.

So rather than work, we sat there. On a concrete floor in between an eight foot tall stack of plastic covered mattresses and a pyramid of 1983 Zennith Tri-Color TV’s, I sat with 15 rowdy, “I would rather be skateboarding than sitting next to this ‘hobo’ stuff” preteens.

I was pissed. But I refused to let the kids see that. We were there to serve. I wanted this to be a positive experience for them. Service has helped define who I am today. I wanted them too to experience the joy of serving others.

And when the man who was in charge finally showed up an hour later, and yes I really mean 60 minutes, they didn’t even have a project for us to do. So they had us take previously folded T-shirts out of one box, refold them and place them into a new box.

Some of the kids asked me how this was really helping anyone else. I stumbled over my words. I wanted so badly for this to be a positive experience that I tried to force something. But I just spit and stuttered.

My heart blackened and mind cleared. And just as I felt numb to the experience, one of the kids asked a question. He wanted to know if he could put a quarter in a pair of pants’ pocket. He thought it would be a nice surprise for a homeless man or woman.  He said it might make their day.

I went to the Rescue Mission because I wanted to demonstrate the joy of service to my kids but in the end it was one of my kids who displayed authentic love and compassion.

I don’t know who will end up finding that quarter but I hope it makes their day. It sure made mine.

Kent