I am sharing a post from the Next Steps Coordinator, Ann-Marie McLain, about the Stop Hunger Now! Bagging Event the church hosted this past weekend. I think she sums up well why we did this event and how it was a worship experience, as well as mission. Enjoy!
At the Stop Hunger Now Bagging Event, I had several God moments that were like a breath of fresh air. I say breath of fresh air because I was caught up in the role of frantically trying to make sure all the last minute details were taken care of. “Did we have enough name badges for everyone to sign-in with, were there enough workers at the weighing tables, etc?”
God gently stopped me for a split second, that’s all it took-a split second, and opened my eyes to HIS works. Not the little administrative things that needed to be done and completed, but the ‘truly moving events’ that were taking place right before my eyes.
One such moment came in the form of a precious and energetic child by the name of Carter Hall. At first I noticed his feet. He was barefoot. Instinctively my safety nature kicks in, was that safe? Was that sanitary? Then, I get a gentle thought that washes through my hyper-active brain and it says ‘Look’. Bare feet doing God’s work… Bare feet running back and forth to answer the call of ‘Runner’ and eagerly meet the need… Bare feet that weren’t afraid of getting dirty, stepping on rice, or being inappropriate… They were there to meet the need that God had set before him, and how that child met that need. He didn’t stop for one second to rest he was so consumed with joy helping all the hands that needed his efforts. He tirelessly ran back and forth from the Filling Table to the Weighing Table and back again. Never once did his actions say “when is it my turn to sit down?” Or, “when can I have a break and let someone else do the running?” And, when it was time to go, what do you think that this child did? He was in tears. He didn’t want to leave because he was having so much fun being a part of this great big event. Feeling needed and knowing that what he was doing was important.
Pure simple joy… That is what we are called to have. That childlike servant attitude that Jesus calls us to live by in Matthew 18:3-4. How easy it is to lose that disposition when I get caught up in all the mundane details of life. But, I want to thank Carter Hall. God showed me in vivid detail a life example of what he talks about in Matthew and how it should look. Thank You!
The second thing God showed me on Saturday was his moving power in his people. Our first shift was the biggest and at that shift, we completed about 35% of the meals, the second shift came in around 25% and the third shift had the smallest amount of people at the start. I had thoughts flying through my head of us finishing up at 8:00pm to complete all the meals (I have a very vivid imagination; one of my best & worst traits) One of the amazing things that God brought about was that people stayed on to help, seeing the need of filling in stations, and that people continued to trickle in as the shift progressed. So, what started out as a very slow start to the shift, ended up with us as a speeding freight train and finishing about 45 minutes before our 2:00 pm deadline.
Since I am always comfortable in the worker bee mode, this perspective was enlightening and awesome. To watch this many people pull together and work in-synch to produce meals that would provide a healthy food to people in need, how cool is that? Through efforts and hard work of ALL First United Methodist Mansfield and the guidance of Joe Boatman, this event was truly inspirational and left a lasting impression on me!
Sincerely,
Ann-Marie McLain
