HomeWorks

 

Volunteers are always needed at the jobsites leading crews or making repairs and talking with the homeowner. However, a lot of work also goes on behind-the-scenes to make sure the project goes efficiently and safely. Whether you have an hour, a day, a week, or a year, you are needed.

 

She woke up cold. She sent her babies to stay where it was warm, but she stayed in the cold. She woke up remembering her parents had died. She woke up remembering two of her seven brothers and sisters were no longer living. She woke up remembering she was the oldest in her family, the one with responsibility, the one who needed to take care of her family, but she was struggling... struggling just to stay warm in her own home. Mrs. Barbara I. Gray remembered a lot.

 

I had the rare experience and pleasure of meeting Mrs. Gray yesterday on a Home Works sponsored "One Day Blitz" project. We painted, scraped, replaced windows, put down a new floor; we even added a new heating unit in her home. Before introducing myself to Mrs. Gray, I noticed her dark penny-shaped eyes wandering off past me, not just looking, but feeling rather. Feeling something I knew I'd never felt before, hoping I never would feel.

 

I took three steps towards her and extended my arm, "You must be Mrs. Gray." Her hands were cold.

"Yes, yes, mmmmhhhm, Barbara Gray, but my friends call me Cookie.. Just a nickname. And I have an "I" in the middle."

 

An 'I' in the middle.. I thought to myself, a little confused, but not for long.. it all made sense when I heard her say, "Yes, Mrs. Barbara I. Gray."

 

She spoke her name so dignified, so proud. I watched her eyes light up.We continued talking. She told me about her six children; four boys, two girls. She showed me all their pictures. In the course of about fifteen minutes, I learned much more about Mrs. Gray: her favorite music, her church, her husband. I also learned how happy she was. This woman, living in poverty, who had nothing but the shirt on her back and a smile on her face, was happy. The reason being: all those from Home Works that came to work on her house that day. Her dark, penny-shaped eyes now filled with water as she told me how blessed she was to have us come make repairs to her home.

 

"You can't do it without God," she said. "You've got to ask Him for help, like I did, and here he's given it to me." When I think of what it means to be a servant, I believe being a servant of God means giving your heart and soul to God and praying. It shows strength. It displays Characteristics of a servant of Christ, a mediocre servant of Christ, however. Being a true servant of God is like life, if you're gonna live, why not live life to its fullest? Well, if you're going to be a true servant of God, why not serve to all those, those who are poor, weak, broken, but all children of God. I don't think it's too ambitious to want to change not the world, but the hearts of human beings. And what better way to do that than serve them... whether it be by making repairs to their home, taking them a hot meal, volunteering time to help clean, or simply listening, and loving in God's name?

 

Psalm 126, verse 6 holds true saying "He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." For after my visit to Mrs. Gray's home, my voice felt like shouting, my heart felt like dancing, and my spirit felt like soaring.

 

When acting as a true servant of Christ, you must always "dance like no one is watching" .. meaning you can't just see what you can get away with, what you can barely scrape by with. You must continue to do as Christ asked and serve Him faithfully. It's hard to be a true servant having a humble, generous, obedient spirit, but God never said it would be easy, just that He'd be there all the way.

 

So I ask God for help, just like Mrs. Gray, because I can't do it alone. Being a servant of Christ means shining all your light, and I believe after spending the day with Mrs. Gray, our light not only lightened her spirit, but warmed her being.

 

Rachel Martin, Member of The Church of the Good Shepherd