A Life of Serving Others

As I made my way to Inner City this morning to read with the sweet kiddos, I had a truly humbling moment.  As I pulled up at the church, which is beside the Salvation Army, I simply waved and smiled at the homeless individuals who were eagerly waiting for the lunch doors to open.  Their eyes lit up at the simple relational gesture! As I mentioned in a previous post, I just finished an in-depth study of the homeless population in America, and it really opened my eyes, especially to their simple need of relationships rather than being treated like an "animal in a zoo." I prayed this morning that God would open my eyes and use me - about an hour later, he did just that.  To see their eyes light up and the returned smiles really blessed my heart.  In fact, one gentleman came over to talk to me. I had plans to go get food for him and his little one when I left from reading, but I could not find him; however, I did find comfort in knowing that his food needs would be met when the Salvation Army doors opened. Nonetheless, I had planned to go help the sweet Inner City kids, as usual, and in turn I was the one who was blessed.

I say all of this to reach another point: This morning reminded me of the sweet words of a 91- year old widow woman who is currently dying from a leaking heart valve. Last Wednesday night, Paul and I had the privilege of listening to Ms. Frances Case as she reminisced over her life. Ms. Frances was a simple southern beautician who married a local photographer. They worked in the photography business for 47 years together, and were married for 63 years.  Now, although she does have a medical condition, to feel sorry for her would be the last thing Ms. Frances would want. On any given day, you might find Ms. Frances attending her exercise class (one that she attends three times a week to work on her balance), playing games with the widow ministry at church, attending church regularly, and driving herself (yes, alert as ever) around town. However, it doesn't take long around Ms. Frances to realize that what she spends the majority of her time doing is SERVNG OTHERS.

 

Before Ms. Case's husband passed, she emphasized that they worked in the photography business, not for the money, but to give their best to the community. She noted that her husband would often view pictures he had printed, and realizing that he could do better would start all over, of course at no charge to the customer. Nonetheless, after her husband's passing, Ms. Frances has not slowed down in her service of others. Ms. Frances likes to visit those in the hospitals and nursing homes and fellowship with them through encouragement and prayer. She also fulfills her weekly volunteer duty of taking, as she says, the "older ladies" from assisted living to go grocery shopping. She is also known to attend as many bridal and baby showers as possible, and she also attends many weddings and funerals weekly. She feels that it is important to be there for people, and how right she is!

Ms. Frances Case at my bridal shower.

When Paul and I were getting married, I was a little nervous about moving to a big city where I did not know many people. I had a lovely bridal shower held at the home of Mrs. Libby Jones (a wonderful woman whom I could not respect more - what a lovely family she has). I was so excited and nervous, as this simply was not my home town. However, never having met her before in my life, Ms. Frances made a point to make it to my bridal shower. She did not stop there, though. She also came to our wedding a couple months later, and at the reception, she left the sweetest advice card on the table -- one that we will cherish forever. It said:

 

"After God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior, always remember to put each other first in your lives.

Remember that we all have our faults so be forgiving. My husband and I were married 63 years when he died of Pancreatic Cancer on Nov. 28, 2004.

As another year has passed, and she has discovered her heart condition, she is still just as spry as ever! When asked how she continues to go on and not worry about her present health concerns, her simple answer (which will forever be embedded in my heart) was this:

WHEN YOU FOCUS ON OTHERS AND SERVING THEM, YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF. IT'S THAT SIMPLE.

 

 

I am amazed at her continuous loving spirit, and she truly embodies the character of servant-hood. Although some feel that Paul and I are in over our heads and will quickly approach burnout, and they may be right, we just can't stop what we were put on this earth to do. For now, God has led us to the sweet family of the Inner City, and we wouldn't change a thing. Yes, it is time consuming and can make life very hectic and challenging at times, but that is when the words of Ms. Frances Case will always be like a whisper in my ear.

 

I pray that these words may ring true in your life, as well.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Whatever position you find yourself in, you were put there for "such as time as this" (just as Esther was in the days of old for the Jews).  Let's keep on pressing heavenward for that prize!! One thing that always keeps me in perspective is the following scripture:

 

"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." (James 4:17)

 

Thankfully, God can take us just as we are and mold us and use as he sees fit. For a final bit of encouragement, take a few moments to listen to this contemporary version of one of my favorite hymns, "Just As I Am."

 

 

Until next time...

 

Reading, Writing, and Decorating

Whew! What a busy and fun-filled week we have had! We enjoyed a relaxing few days with my family when they came to visit last weekend, and then we hit the ground running on Monday.

This past week Paul was going non-stop on projects at work and meeting with professors (for HOURS) about the article he has been preparing for publishing. In the meantime, I was swamped with assignments for grad school, including a 10 pg. paper that I knocked out like a champ! I must say that learning and researching the existence, causes, and solutions of homelessness really opened my eyes while humbling me at the same time. I have such a soft spot in my heart for the homeless, and I would just love it if God leads me in a direction to work more closely with such a vulnerable population of peoples. (I figured that most probably would not want to, so I did not post it; however, if you would like to see my research on the topic, let me know and I will post it or send it to you.)

I also spent time this week reading to upcoming fifth graders during Mayfair's LIFT program at church. This is more of a VBS for the Inner City, but they also incorporate the children's summer reading into the program. We had fun reading James and the Giant Peach, and they enjoyed receiving little prizes each day for their participation: a paper bag with "magic" growing beads (to represent the ones given to James by an old man in the book), glowsticks (to represent Mr. Glowworm), bouncy balls (to represent the hailstones that damaged the big peach), and pencils and candy (to represent the peach landing on the lightning rod of the Empire State Building). The crazy part is that I picked up the little prizes before ever realizing what the book was about - how neat that it all just worked like a charm! I will say, though, that I am going to NOT recommend that book for next year, even if it is on their summer reading list, because it had some dirty words in it that I had to read carefully to make sure to avoid any inappropriateness. Of course, the children never knew, and I'm pretty sure the leaders of the program did not either or they wouldn't have allowed that book.  Such a shame - who knew children's books had such content?

Click to see pictures from the 2013 LIFT program!

With all the Friday Furlough going on around the arsenal, we are very thankful that Paul's hours did not get cut; however, these ten hour days make for a tired husband (although you would never know it because he goes non-stop working on stuff). I have to admit, though, that I am enjoying having him temporarily home a little more on Fridays. After a very busy week, we still managed to make time for each other and friends over the weekend. We were able to enjoy an early morning swim (we got up early to beat the little kiddos to the pool) and grilling out with a few friends (including me teaching my friend Lindley how to shuck corn). We even got to throw in a date night to our favorite place (ROLO'S - seriously the best southern food around for a really good price!) and enjoy a movie at a theatre without hearing "Hey, Mrs. Lanza!" Considering the movie watching, I just have to throw in that we recently talked about our witness to others and decided that we needed to be more careful about what we watch. Although others may think it's a little crazy, we have found that cutting out shows and movies with any questionable content, even if it seems small,  has just really blessed us so much! With all the media around, it isn't easy, but I strongly encourage it!!

 

 

 

 

Also, after a doctor's appointment a few weeks back and looking at charts, I realized that I am needing to lose about ten pounds to be at a "healthy" weight for my height and bone size. I have to say that I gave Advocare (a program that most people love to aid in exercise, nutrition, and minimal weight loss), but I just couldn't do it. After realizing that I apparently have issues working a blender and wasting half the meal-replacement shake, as well as gagging while trying to take 12, yes TWELVE, horse-pill vitamins on a daily basis, I decided that this was definitely not for me. Kudos to those of you who can make it work! As for me, I will just continue my regular exercise at the gym and eating healthy, and my weight will just have to reside where it may. In speaking of food, I also have to admit that I had way too much fun on our week to take breakfast to Sunday School. While some said that it looked like a gourmet bakery in class, I can only respond with, "When cooking is not your strong suite, you make up for it with cuteness!" haha

 

 

 

Lastly, I have to give a shout out to my wonderful husband for working diligently our DREAM CLOSET!! He has finished all of it except for the shoe wall (yes, you heard that right - SHOE WALL!!!). We had debated for awhile on whether to keep the white wire shelving, and we decided to put in wood shelving instead. I am so glad we did, and it looks absolutely AMAZING! Once we get it finished and organized, I will post more pictures. In the meantime, I have finally gotten enough decorations up around the house to make it feel more like a home. It only took me a year, haha, but hey decorations are not cheap. Here are a few pictures of the house...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope this letter/update finds you well, and I hope you enjoyed reading and viewing the pictures! Please keep in touch, and remember that we LOVE to hear from you! Until next time...