There are 365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour....and yesterday, in 240 minutes, my home was rejuvenated by community. This particular community was a small sampling of the Church in action, and I am still thanking and praising God for each of them!
There were two teen neighbors, two ladies from my local church, and eight total strangers, with two other people who I never talked to that dropped in to work for an hour.
Since 2001 when my husband left and my children had children making them very busy people, my home has had various things get old and worn. Everyone has this particular trouble because we even call it "the problem with owning your own home is....". Well, at church recently I was approached and asked if I could use some help because there was a mission team going to Russia this summer and they needed practice working together.
After assuring them I had no money to contribute to this worthy cause, they assured me that they were just trying to follow the command of Jesus Christ in helping the widows and fatherless. My husband abandoning us makes me a virtual widow and my youngest sons sound asleep in their bedrooms reminded me they were fatherless...so I accepted.
Community, a group of people gathering together to accomplish a single purposeful action, WOW. At 9:00 am they arrived bearing cups of half drunk coffee, unloaded their coolers of food(they brought lunch and snacks), and got to work. First, I snapped a picture to remind myself of God's Goodness when I am feeling lousy. This particular thankless attitude happens more often than I care to admit, and I am working on curing the beast.
Two people grabbed window washing rags, four people headed upstairs to my hall which had not been painted in eleven years of owning this home, two other lovely ladies began scraping the front porch to paint as two young men grabbed the power washer to remove something green and growing all over my deck! Suddenly two more people arrived, never said a word and started weeding the flower beds!!
God had His kind and thoughtful ways of encouraging us all too! As the day, previously threatening rain and a cold front, surprisingly became a sunny, warm, glorious experience of Spring at its finest!
Four hours later, as if by magic, but most definitely by hard labor and good attitudes of service, my HOME was renewed!! Upstairs hallway sparkling with new light green walls(we decided it was a celery color that was on sale in an unmarked can),front porch glowing in the sun, flower beds ready to plant fowers instead of growing the weeds that were there, windows able to be seen through clearly, and back deck actually made of Wood, not mold!!
I was in shock and filled with a sense of Wonder that God could throw together by Divine Design, a group of strangers, forming a Community of Help and point them in my direction for 1/6 of a day! The accomplishments were astounding and I was speechless.
The icing on this very rich cake of kindness, was the sitting down and eating of a yummy lunch prepared, shared and provided by my caring community. We talked and relaxed and they felt like friends gathering for a light lunch after a day at the beach.
Oh, and after everyone left, the house sparkled, and I had showered, I walked out to my front porch and there, sitting in place as if they had always been around, were five(5!)mysteriously appearing and blooming potted, hanging plants!!
Our God is an awesome God! Community is an awesome concept! and I am a thankful woman!
1 comment:
OK, now who was half drunk? And, I am only speculating here, but maybe they would have stayed more than 1/6 of the day if you had showered BEFORE they arrived? Just a thought....seriously though, very refreshing to have Christian love touch somebody I know and love. Believe me, it was as rewarding for them as you!
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