“I am going to serve
food at the San Leon park on Tuesday. I
am bringing my kids and inviting other friends along as well…want to join?”
I didn’t have to think long about my friend’s
invitation. Never one to shy away from
opportunities to show my kids how to love and serve, and if I’m being
completely honest, opportunities to show them how ‘lucky and privileged’ they
are, this seemed like a perfect thing to do on a Tuesday morning. And so, one very HOT day in August, my tribe
joined my friends’ tribes to joyfully serve.
We drive up and I am immediately overwhelmed by the number
of people under the large pavilion, and the large semi truck trailer plastered
with ‘Galveston County Food Bank’ that waits for them. There is a row of neatly lined white tables
on both sides of the trailer, and a much, much larger line of people with
numbers waiting to be served. There are
also LOTS of little kids on a mission trip eager to help pass out food.
Upon arriving, we are asked to grab a wagon and accompany
guests through the line and to their car as their number is called. I grabbed a wagon and proceeded to accompany
my first guest. As we walked past each
table, generous amounts of food ranging from meat, to fruit and veggies, to
bread and cereal were loaded into the wagon.
I remember asking my first guest how long they had been waiting under
the pavilion, and her response was ‘7:30’.
Did I mention it was HOT? Did I
mention that I didn’t stroll in until 9:30 or a little after, and that food
wasn’t served until 10:00am? I couldn’t
even imagine waiting 2 ½ hours in the heat for a wagon full of food, let alone
have such an attitude of thankfulness and joy when food was loaded in the car.
As time and guests passed, and all but one of my children
faded into the comfort of the A/C in the car, I began to listen to conversation
and reflect on some of the comments that I had heard. One lady stated that she loved these Tuesdays
and that it felt like a huge family reunion under that pavilion as they got
together with others in the community.
Another lady showed genuine concern for another resident who was deaf,
and wanted to ensure that he knew when it was time to go. I realized that I had not heard one real complaint
from anyone that had been waiting now for well over three hours, and there were
plenty of smiles and genuine responses of gratitude as car after car were
loaded with groceries.
Behind the smiles, however, there was also brokenness and
pain. One guest was still smiling as he
shared his story because his gratitude outweighed the pain. There was another, however, whose smile faded
as she relayed her current situation and how she ended up under that red
pavilion. I remember asking her if I
could pray for her, and tears began to stream down her cheeks as she told me
her story. She mentioned that she had been to church one time, but felt God
trying to say something to her. How
sweet it was to be able to share the hope that we have in Jesus, to tell her
the good news, and to be able to pray not only for her physical situation but
her spiritual as well!
Over 200 families were served food that day, but they
received a much greater gift. They experienced the love of God and the gift
of community and friendship. I, on
the other hand, left feeling good about serving. As God so frequently does, He led me to
begin reading a book to better understand poverty, and in so doing, gently
convicted me about ‘feeling good’.
Remember that statement at the beginning where I said that I wanted to
show my kids how ‘lucky and privileged’ they were? I realized that I had a superiority
complex. It felt good to go in and be
able to help someone else, but the source of feeling good was pride and not God,
materialism as opposed to thankfulness to the One who provides. That source of feeling good caused me to look
at those people who had waited in that long line for hours to get a wagon full
of food and somehow feel better than them on a subconscious level. I took pride
in somehow feeling that I had caused my ‘privileged’ state, not that God had
entrusted me with His resources and it was not something I had actually earned
or deserved. Not only that, part of why
I am ‘privileged’ is because of injustice that occurred to other people groups
in the past. Ouch. Yes, food is a
blessing and a good gift from God, and I am beyond grateful for that blessing. I am
not, however, more valuable to God or more loved by Him because of it. I knew that, thought I believed it, and would
have confessed that with my mouth, but praise God that He searches us, knows
us, and loves us enough to reveal the hidden things in our hearts.
After repenting of my pride, seeing my ‘privilege’ for what
it really is, and allowing God to root out sin that I previously wasn’t aware
was there, I returned the following month with a new way to filter my
experiences. Once again, there were over
200 families served. It was beautiful to
see that some of the volunteers serving that day were also families that
received the food! It was truly
community loving and serving community.
As I was walking one gentleman to his car, he exclaimed that he was so
moved by our generosity, he now mows his neighbor’s lawn. She, in turn, does things for him. In his words, he felt inspired by the generosity
shown to him through the food fair. And,
again, I encountered broken moments where I was able to share the good news of
Jesus with someone hurting from broken relationships, pray with her, and invite
her to get engaged with a gospel community.
I left being amazed by God and what He is doing in the lives
of others. What a privilege and honor
it is to go in our own brokenness and share God’s grace and love with those who
are broken too. What a privilege and honor to be a tiny part
of what He is doing in the community, to share in that community, and use the
time that He has given me to honor Him in relationships that I hope to build
there. The food fair in San Leon is much
more than food given to those in need…it is a reflection of God’s love and
glory, and is life-giving to those who see it.
