Acts of Service

A good friend of mine had a great idea to do acts of service over the summer. She called it S.O.S. I thought that was such a neat idea that I stole it to be part of our school curriculum. Ours is called Semesters of Service! (I like to steal great ideas!) In the past we had done things like bringing goody bags to the children's floor at the hospital and making dinners for sick friends or friends who had just had babies. We have made cookies for neighbors and babysat for other kids when needed. But it really has been a long time since we have done anything. So I started to ponder what we could do for the up coming semester.

This time I really wanted it to be something that was out of the box for me. I think I am pretty good about serving others but it is usually well within my personal comfort zone. And I could feel God tugging at me about it. My nephew, when he was here, volunteered for Meals on Wheels so I asked him about it. Then another homeschooling mom that I am acquainted with would always post about her family blessings when they did MOWs. I believe God was tugging at me in that direction. He wasn't being subtle ;) So finally after a couple of weeks of pondering, I made the call to Elder Care Services. I told her I was very interested in volunteering for MOWs. The first words out of her mouth were "Bless you." I knew this is what I was suppose to do! I proceeded to tell the lady that I was horrible with directions and had four pretty young children that would be accompanying me. She encouraged me to just give it a try. And today we did.

I asked my mother-in-law if she would like to go with us. I figured, because I hadn't a clue what I was doing or where I was going it would be easier in the beginning if I could just leave the kids in the car while I delivered the food. She was more than happy to go with us. So the six of us headed out about 9:45 to pick up our food and map and list of names. I would be lying if I told you I wasn't just a little bit nervous. Where would I be delivering? Would the kids behave? Would I have to do something for someone out of my comfort zone? Would I get lost? Would I be late with the meals? I prayed. I figured if this is what the Lord wants me to do it will be all worked out for me. And, oh my, was it ever worked out! I couldn't have planned it better myself. The 6 houses we were to deliver to, were all on my side of town. In neighborhoods that I had passed before or at least knew where they were!

But that was just the beginning of one of the most wonderful, fulfilling experiences in my life! I can't not express in words the absolute feeling of compassion and caring that I experienced doing this small and simple task of delivering food. Some of the ladies wanted to chat a little. Others just took their food and said "thank you." All of them were very grateful. The kids helped me hold open the coolers and get the food out. They helped me find the streets and the house numbers. They were angels. EG even took a nap.

At one house, the lady had just twisted or broken her ankle and the neighbor was there and had called an ambulance. I asked if there was anything we could do and the neighbor said no. I did call Elder Care just to let them know. At two other houses, grandsons or great grandsons were there to open the door and help.

We were coming to the second to last house on our list. And I knew this is where God wanted us to be. A little old lady about 95 years old answered the door. I gave her the food and started to chat with her. She was very talkative and very lonely. You could just tell. I asked about her family and where she grew up. She grew up in Florida but her children had moved to Texas. She lived in her house all by herself and was busy dusting because the cleaning lady didn't have time to that day. We chatted about lots of little things. I think I was there for at least 10 minutes. I told her I was hoping to get her route at least once a week. And if so, I would make her last on my list and if she didn't mind a little chaos, I would bring the kids in for a visit. She smiled and said they could leave their autographs on her dusty furniture. I was pretty sure they could do that! So I gave her a quick hug and told her I hoped we would see her soon.

When we had finished our last house, the kids kept saying how much they enjoyed it. They hadn't known what to expect but it was way better than they thought it would be. They even volunteered to help me bring the food up to the houses next time. And they want there to be a next time! My original plan was to provide an act of service to others, I truly did not plan on a blessing to my entire family. We cannot wait until next week . . .