I love Susan Shain's article The simple, free and foolproof way to become a happier person. She very beautifully talked about how volunteering can change your life and bring you so much joy that you can't imagine. I agree that if you want to have more joy in your life then volunteer.
I remember a few years ago my husband and I was running a Church youth group in Las Vegas and we decided to take the youth to the homeless shelter to volunteer to feeding the homeless. We didn't realize that none of the teens ever been to a homeless shelter and a few of them and their parents were too afraid to go. I will never forget when we took one young lady, she was 13 at the time. As we drove by a long line of tents to the shelter you can feel she was really nervous. I saw her with wide eyes looking out the window of the car at the people living on the streets in tents. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. “These people live here?” she asked. I said yes these are the people we are here to serve today. She said, “seriously they don't have any homes?” I said They live on the streets in tents and they don't have any food to eat. We are here to feed them. She had never been downtown to see all the homeless people living on the streets. She never saw what was beyond the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. My husband and I knew because we lived there for a short time. She honestly didn't know what a homeless person looked like until that day. I looked at her as she looked out the window of the car and she looked like she was about to cry. She kept saying I can't believe this, I can't believe this.
I looked at my husband and smiled because I knew this was an experience she would never forget. A experience that will change her life. She was put in charge of handing out the fruit to everyone that walked through the door of the shelter. I stood beside her handing out bags of bread. I saw her go from being very nervous to extremely happy as each person thanked her for the fruit that she gave them. You could see a sense of purpose and pride on her face. She knew that she was making a difference in these people's lives even in just a small simple way of giving fruit to people who were hungry. At the end of the day, she was jumping up and down very excited asking when will we be going back to serve again? I wanted to teach her that the most important thing that we can do is help those in need. Don't simply talk, tweet or facebook about helping, go down to the shelter and help. Even if it is just simply to pass out a bag of bread or fruit.
I can totally relate to Susan when she said “I volunteer because I feel like something’s missing in my life if I don't”. Volunteering gives me a sense of purpose and joy. I have something special to give each person that I come across and so do you. Like the young lady, we took to the shelter to feed the homeless, your presence, and your love are a gift. You are a precious gift to someone.
Many times I come across people who complain about their situation and how messed up the world is. I always suggest to go volunteer and change the world. Susan in her article talks about how when we volunteer we don't just change someone else's life we at the same time change our own life. If you are feeling sad, frustrated and angry about your situation, your life or your surroundings I greatly suggest that you get outside of yourself and go help someone in need. Your spirit will thank you and so will the people you help. Read Susan Shain's article The simple, free and foolproof way to become a happier person and be that precious gift in someone's life. See how your own life quickly change when you volunteer to help someone in need.
God bless
No comments:
Post a Comment