What a beautiful Saturday it was... 7o-ish degree weather, with the sun shining.
On a beautiful, Saturday like this... there are many things to do. I know I can come up with just a few.. maybe working in the yard, sitting by the pool with a book, taking a walk, playing with the dogs..or maybe it was a day for working inside, cleaning and getting ready for the week. But while I need to do all of the above, my afternoon was spent differently.
Did you know what Saturday, May 12th was? Have you ever heard of the National Stamp Out Food Drive? I learned about it just a few years ago. It is driven by the National Post Office service. On one Saturday of the year, individuals can do the simple act of placing food out by their mail boxes.. (sounds simple right? but how does that help anything). Then the mail men and mail women drop off your mail and pick up all those cans of food. The drive around their route with can food rolling this way and that, and then bring it back to their post office. All the food is unloaded at the post office, sorted through checking the dates, divided by product type into boxes. These boxes are then weighed and divided between different food pantries in the community (big process, you say.. you betcha!)
Today I saw cans of potatoes, pasta, green beans, corn, spinach, boxes of crackers, juice containers and so many other things. I weighed more boxes then I think I can count and figured out which agency got the box. Lots of food, lots of items, lots of boxes, and lots of time. This year it seemed we had lots more food then we have had in the past. In Lenoir, the two agencies that the food was divided between was Lenoir Soup Kitchen and Lenoir Yokefellow. A collection of wonderful volunteers along with myself decided to spend our afternoon helping out at the Lenoir PO Food Drive. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, it was spent helping others. One may not understand that the impact that happened today helps so many individuals in the community. It was not direct action to a person or family, but was an incredible amount of indirect action that is very special.
So why did I spend my Saturday afternoon doing this, you ask? Volunteering is just what I love to do. I find excitement in doing it. Sometimes I get tired and sore, but knowing that I am helping someone out indirectly or directly is just awesome! I am connected with Yokefellow, but that is not the reason that I was there.
To those that summer time means not having school everyday--spend your time wisely. This does not mean that you NEED or MUST volunteer somewhere, but it does mean that you need to learn something. Maybe it is just learning how to not sit around bored everyday, or maybe it is learning how to actually do an action. Find what it is you want to learn. Find out what or where your niche is, maybe you want to get connected into a field of study.. well go learn that this summer. I am using this summer to learn as much as I can--most of what will benefit me in my major choice. But some days, or evenings I am using my time to learn random things..
We are always learning things.. doesn't that sound crazy.. but don't ya think it is true as well :)
Dear God, You are holy and mighty. You are there, watching our every move. You teach us daily to talk to you and to walk in your shoes. God, I ask that you continue to walk with us and help us to remember that while sometimes it is not easy , it is what we need to do. I ask that you continue to help me remember to not only pray for friends, family, and peers, but also those that i do not yet know and those that are my enemies. I pray to you to keep all of those safe that are out on the road and those serving our beloved country. I love you Lord Jesus. Amen.
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