Life gets busy and it is easy for the little things to crowd out the most important things.
At an early age I watched my parents reach out to children and families not from their social circle. I saw my mom freely dispense hugs to children desperate for love and attention. She told me multiple times that no child was unlovable and that the children requiring the most work were the children most likely to go on to do amazing things.
I tried to take my mother's lessons and use them in my life. I wanted my children to be able to learn her lessons and then use those lessons for themselves. My outreaches looked different than my parent's outreaches. My outreaches also look different from ones of my SIL. I love to hear about the ways that she involves her children in their community as children are helped in the KC area. Is any one way the only way? I would like to think that each way is just as important and that there is a job out there for each of us. Each of us can make a difference in our own unique way.
For Earth Day I found myself planting seedlings with my fellow VISTAs. It was rewarding and fun! What were my children and their friends doing that day? Let me back up to give you a bit of background. Recently my hubby and I traveled to Pensacola to visit the kids at college. In chapel, we heard an announcement about the Serve Pensacola event; I was a good mom and kept quiet to see what my fully functioning and adult children would do. Later, I heard my girls talking about signing up for the event t-shirts and I mentally did a fist pump. I was curious about which non-profit they were going to select, but again kept quiet.
Right before the VISTA event, I heard that the girls had selected their non-profit based on a personal connection with someone in that organization. When the girls were waiting in line for the college bus to take them to their place of service, guess who they found in line with them? Yes, my son had also unknowingly selected the same location out of a list of many non-profits spread across the Pensacola area.
When I was preparing for this blog post, I checked for a PCC video and, imagine my surprise, to see that my son (first young man shown) was on the video below! Being the proud mama that I am, I decided to share it on this post. That handsome and caring young man is mine! I couldn't be more proud of my children.
 |
| Click here to see the video |
The moral of this story is? Your children are watching and modeling what they see their parents doing. Make volunteering look fun and make it a family event. Plan a fun treat for after the volunteer service is completed; it will add an extra sensory component to the adventure.
And of some have compassion, making a difference: Jude 1:22 KJV
Click here to find out more about volunteer opportunities at City of Refuge.
All opinions expressed here are solely mine and are not a reflection of the opinions of the AmeriCorps VISTA program
or of City of Refuge in Columbia, MO.
Comments
Post a Comment