Praise
“More than any other church I’ve known, this one collectively understands what the red words mean.”
This was said in the car yesterday on the way down to
I don’t think praise comes any higher than that.
Later, Judy, a woman with our group, said to Cecil, the owner of the house, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He replied, “I’ve had so many blessings in my life that if I never get another one I’ve had my share.”
I don’t think attitude comes any better than that.
If you’ve been wondering whether you should go down to the coast and help out, let me give you one more reason to do it. Go for the people you’ll have the privilege to get to know.
I am continually amazed by how things work out so that every time I go on a Katrina work day, there is something for me to do. Honestly, no one could have less know-how or less of an eye for what needs doing than me. A neighbor asked me just the other day if I needed help changing the bulbs in my flood lights because I’d left them burned out for so long. I’m really that bad.
At some point during the day yesterday, one of the women with the group said, “Isn’t this amazing? Anyone can build a house.”
That’s the way I feel every trip. If I can do this, anyone can. And it is amazing.
Yesterday, I learned to mud sheetrock. At least, I mudded a lot of sheetrock whether I’d learned to do it or not. I also mudded myself, the floor, and a couple of friends and loved every minute of it.
It was a good day. We all left feeling good about what we were able to accomplish despite the fact that most of us would not be anyone’s “first pick” for a construction team. That feeling of accomplishment leaves me wanting to say once again:
- If you show up to work for Jesus with nothing more than a willing heart, there will be something you can do.
- The other people who show up to work for Jesus are da bomb.
posted by Sharon Gerald | 7:02 AM
2 Comments:
I am having a bad case of guilt. I have been saying, "If it weren't for my knees . . ." Maybe that's an excuse. I'm thinking about this . . .
You may know that I have a flip calendar on my desk at work that I am now going through for the third year. It has a thought from Mother Teresa for each day. Today's quote:
"We should give thanks to God for he has done in us, with us, and through us. We should thank him for using us to be his love and mercy."
Seemed to tie in with your thoughts about working at Pearlington.
Jeanne
P.S. Thank you again for giving me online "devotional" readings each day. They're better than most of the ones I've paid for.
Jeanne, there are things you can do even if you can't actually go on a work day. Make sandwiches or cookies or other snacks to send with the crews, for example.
We talked Saturday about trying to get more organized and maybe have people sign up to provide food.
At first, the workers were being fed by the Red Cross, but as one person put it recently, "Everyone but the Christians has packed up and left town now."
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