Tuesday, October 10, 2006

My dearest God,

Bells tolled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Amish girls were laid to rest. And why did Presbyterians peal their bells? So many people have helped them since 9/11 they said and they wanted to give something back.

Tornados appeared out of dark clouds and spun their way to the ground in southern Indiana, destroying everything in its path. Baker's Chapel United Methodist Church went down with it. That was a year ago. They are rebuilding but need lots of help. NYC firefighters came a few weeks ago. They worked a few days. And why? They said they received so much help after 9/11 and they wanted to give something back.

It seems like a trend. Receiving help and giving it back. Strangers merging, coming together to help one another. If it is true that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive, then those who have already received and are now helping are twice blessed. If societies lived this basic tenet, then the whole world would be receiving and giving. This gracious act could literally change the world.

Something happens inside us when a perfect stranger comes to our aid in a crisis. We can't quite get our mind around this act of generosity. We scratch our heads, looking for an explanation. But it doesn't come. It is a sheer display of love.

Gayle is giving back. In her 70's she suffers from diabetes, back problems, asthma and other associated health problems. When we gave the plea at church for workers to go to Mississippi to offer aid to those affected by Hurricane Katrina, Gayle was one of the first to say yes. When she told her children she planned to help out, they tried to talk her out of it, citing age, health, and safety issues. But Gayle would not give in. "I want to give something back." She told me.

Last night I talked by phone with some of the work crew. Finally Gayle got on the phone. "I got up at 5:00 a.m." She's on the kitchen crew, cooking for 50 something volunteers. She was so proud, happy to be part of the effort. And not only that, she had gotten to know my husband pretty well and she was teasing him and they were all laughing after a hard day's work.

Receiving and giving. Giving and receiving. A love cycle. Deemed beautiful by its Composer. I've received a lot during my lifetime. The stories of my earliest beginnings, the numbers of people who cared for me, friends of my parents. I had lots of helpers, people who wanted to give something back, people who had nothing to gain but everything to give.

I've done my share of giving back. But I sense there's no end to it. Even when the "job" is complete, there's still something stirring in my heart, looking for the next time. Sometimes it's something as simple as a smile to a troubled person, a hug or handshake, letting someone get in front of you on the road or in the grocery store, sharing a word of encouragement or affirmation. In some odd way or another it is about embodying the person of Jesus in situations where people have a need. And we have the power to change the situation for someone else.

We find You in the spirit
of someone giving back.
We witness your love
as someone else meets our need.
We discover we are not alone;
You are with us,
loving and caring,
generous.
We do not walk the path alone;
we are destined to meet strangers
in the intersections of life.
We have a high calling to lift
the heart and spirit of one
who has fallen low.
And we are required to receive
the gift of another reaching out to us.
A tapestry of love.

Always, Andrea