Your City: Day 92; 100 Days to Brave

Be Brave: 

Volunteer in your city. 

Serve the place where you live in some way. 

Joyce Meyer once told a story about her needing to use the rest room while on a trip. She got to the public vicinity and scoffed over how ill-kept it was. "Why doesn't someone clean this up?" she wondered to herself. 

And then, funny thing, God answered her. 

"You, are someone." That's what He said to her. 

Was it her job? No. 

Did she go to the restroom with the intention of volunteering? No. 

Did she do the task regardless? Yes. 

Was she smiling as she did? Probably not. 

I think of this story from time to time.  I think of it in regards to the lay work which is unflattering, messy, and difficult. In regards to city life, (or country, no bias here) it places a noble thought before me: what can I do to serve?

Some quick thoughts which come to mind:
*While I am shoveling my walkway, shovel my neighbor's as well. 

Likewise with mowing grass. 

*Picking-up the litter on my block. 

*Offering a sweet treat, an "I see you and appreciate you" to the mailman: A candy bar and a water bottle.

*Visiting with the police officers who sit at McDonald's every Tuesday morning for an hour and offer a meet-and-greet.

*Seeing which churches, non-profits, and government institutions are offering ways to help: serve the homeless, collect food, glean local orchards, go to nursing homes.  

One of the very best ways I have seen volunteers gather 

with the goal of sharing the gospel had nothing 

to do with large auditoriums and matching tee-shirts. 

Nothing to do with a dance number and a stellar sermon. 

It had everything to do with serving. 

   

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At the Los Angeles Dream Center, where I lived my 21st and 22nd years of life, the mission of Adopt-A-Block was to share the gospel by actually investing time in getting to know the people in that area. Pastor Barnett knew that the people who were in need were more likely to understand the goodness of Jesus when they saw His people serving. And the truth is, people in need actually need the tangible help often times before they can receive the gospel. We are all better able to focus when we have full bellies and our needs are met.

Returning week after week to the same area (the hotels, beaches, Skid Row, etc.), getting to know people by their first names, this would be a natural result. Holding and hugging the very young, very old, and very needy would be welcomed because it would be less about strangers and more about relationship building. And because people would see the goodness of God in others, they would desire that hope and goodness for themselves as well. 

Let me close today with this: Skid Row was where I volunteered all those years ago. We would take a school bus filled with volunteers and supplies. We would arrive and set-up shop on the side of the street. A line for food. Maybe another for necessities. And we would serve the locals.
Part of the volunteering was organic. While there were those serving the food, there would be others who would walk around, meeting the locals. I was part of the later. 

I would walk around and I would take it all in.
The sights, the smells, and the reality of Skid Row living. 

And the truth?

Trash and broken glass littered the ground. Port-O-Potties sat in awkward places, scattered around for people to do their business. The streets smelled like urine. The children were barefoot.

I hated going. 

I hated feeling dirty and, although I absolutely understood the rationale, it was a constant struggle for me. And then, one day.
I watched from a distance of maybe 20 feet as Pastor Matthew Barnett and his wife, Caroline, embraced the people of Skid Row. They were dressed nicely, as was their norm, but it was a stark contrast to my sweatpants and "dirty shoes"- my unofficial uniform for Saturday mornings. I watched as Caroline got down on her knees and held a little girl.
I watched as they got close. I watched as they served their city.
And it was amazing.

Wherever we are, we are there with a purpose. 

What if we were each intentional about finding that purpose and thriving there?