You Can Do It! You're Already Equipped!

Step outside your comfort zone. Do some volunteer work!

“There is joy unspeakable in helping others. It’s not about you but you won’t leave unchanged for the better.”

I recently did something a bit outside of my comfort zone. Many of you know I am not a girly girl and that I prefer power tools to sewing machines, but this might have crossed a line. I volunteered to gut homes!

Before I left for this short service opportunity working with Christ in Action’s extraordinary group of people doing Hurricane Florence disaster relief work in the New Bern, NC area I had a few reservations. Could this almost 50 -year old woman with chronic tennis elbow, a temperamental knee and an extreme mold allergy really be of any use? Certainly they’d rather have stronger, younger, men stepping up and volunteering. What skills could I bring to the table… I mean the house demo process? After serving on a team gutting homes that had been ravaged by anywhere from 2-12 feet of flood waters where mold began to grow within days and everything in the homes including walls, floors, appliances, clothing, food, artwork, even precious photos and mementos of lives actively enjoyed, had to go… I realized God had equipped me long before.

I am a mom of three teen boys. Do you know how many dirty socks and Legos I have picked up off the floor? Don’t even try to guess the number – there is no prize! If you can pick up dirty laundry and get it to the hamper or the washer, you can pick up pieces of trim and broken sheet rock and get it to a wheel barrow.

Can you push a loaded grocery cart full of drinks and snacks for an entire wrestling team or show choir? Step right up and you can wheel that wheel barrow to the curb and dump it. Ok, maybe some of us can’t do that for eight hours, but you can load the bucket and someone else can wheel it out.

Have you ever pulled weeds? Then you can pull nails! And there are more nails to pull than you can ever imagine and some give that stubborn dandelion root a run for its money. You can do it. Nails are not heavy. And Lord knows you have practiced patience and repetitive tasks if you have ever had toddlers. You can do it! You don’t even have to bring a hammer – they will provide you with one.

Can you sweep up Cheerios from the floor? Can you rake leaves onto a tarp or into a bucket? Ok then… take this broom and sweep up nails and insulation. Hmmm… look at this mess. Grab a rake and get busy making a pile of all of those tiny sheet rock bits. Do you like hot yoga? This is an opportunity to sweat for a good cause. You get to wear a nifty red shirt, jeans and work boots no matter how hot the weather. Consider it a work out for the Lord! Sweat party!

Are you a pro at changing stinky diapers? God has uniquely prepared you to help with disposing of smelly flood food and moldy items. You even get a mask to help keep the icky smells at bay. My sage advice is to add a little menthol vapor rub under that mask and you barely even notice! Yes, if you must know I did this when changing dirty diapers too – do what you must…no shame!

Have you ever bandaged a hurt knee and comforted someone in their pain? You can sit with a home owner who has lost nearly everything and reassure them that all will return to normal in time. You can encourage them as they vent their frustrations. Have you recently had coffee with a girlfriend? You know how to listen as a homeowner expresses their heart and reminisces about memories attached to the items you are carrying out of their home. Share their joy, encourage them in their despair and remind them God sees, God hears. What a privilege to pray with them.

I won’t lie at the end of the week I was sore. My knee did hurt, my trigger finger acted up a bit, I had to take some ibuprofen (and some Imodium but that may be TMI) but I didn’t have to use my inhaler once and I know that I accomplished an unreal amount of work that I could normally not do under those conditions. God was good. There is joy unspeakable in helping others. It’s not about you and you will most definitely leave changed for the better.

You are not too old. You are not too weak. God covers your weakness and equips the called. When you are weak He is strong. Move out in faith and watch him work.If you can give a day or more you will be blessed. Check out this opportunity www.ChristinAction.com and sign up to serve.

©sdpoole10/2018#CIA #ChristinAction #volunteer