Volunteer

Volunteer

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

“WHO’S OPEN?” the volunteer in charge called out, looking around the busy room. Raising my hand, I waved a little. She spotted me and herded her charge my way.

“This is Isaiah,” she said, handing me his list and a lumpy bag full of items hidden from view. Trusting brown eyes peeked at me out of a small face.

“Hi, Isaiah!” I said cheerfully. “I’m Kristin. How old are you?”

“Five,” he said shyly, looking away.

I smiled. “I bet you picked some great presents for your family. Which one should we start with first?”

As Isaiah helped me choose the gift and the paper to wrap each in, I kept him busy looking for tags and bows while deftly cutting the paper and wrapping the items. Lotion and fuzzy socks for his mom, a tool set for his dad. A Barbie for his little sister, an unwieldy basketball for his big brother, a mug and kitchen gadgets for his grandma.

Kids Hope Shop is an event put on annually by our local homeless shelter. It allows at-risk kids in the community to “shop” for Christmas gifts for their family members for free. Their items are wrapped by volunteers and they’re served a meal while at the facility. Though I’m always exhausted at the end of my gift-wrapping shift, it’s one of my favorite days of the year.

We are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, and we have the great privilege of using our bodies and minds to serve others by volunteering. When we recall the unselfish way in which Jesus washed the feet of his disciples or provided bread and fish for a hungry crowd, it becomes easier to look beyond our own circumstances and problems to see the needs of others. Though volunteering benefits others, the truth is that it always benefits us as well. No matter where we serve, we can always walk away grateful for the reminder of the servant leadership of our Jesus.

Lord, help us to approach volunteering with the same heart for service that you have. Amen.

-Kristin

One Good Step: Schedule a time to volunteer somewhere within the next month.