Making a Difference

~Grandma & Grandad's front-porch, California, Missouri 1963

It's been my observation that you don't have to pastor a church or move to a far away land in order to have a meaningful ministry. This concept is being proven daily by folks all around who go about their daily lives while quietly and selflessly helping others.
An example of this is someone I know who lives a comfortable middle class life style, but spends a great deal of her time shopping at yard sales and flea markets in an ongoing quest to find high quality items at ridiculously low prices. I don't think I've ever known of or for that matter even heard of an individual who's better at finding a bargain than her. I've seen her purchase brand new clothes, household goods, and numerous assorted items with the original sales tags still attached for pennies on the dollar. I'd estimate that by now she's probably purchased somewhere between 2 and 3 pretty good sized semi tractor trailer loads of merchandise for a fraction of the actual value. Her prowess in the field of buying merchandise I'm sure would have made Sam Walton himself somewhat envious.

This may not seem all that different from many folks you might know who have a penchant for great deals, but with her it's different. The individual I'm writing about spends all this time, effort, and money searching out, buying and hauling all this stuff around, so she can give it away--that's right, so she can give it away. God apparently gave her a generous heart and she puts that heart to work throughout the year buying as much stuff as she can so she can give it to people who need it. In many cases, people who without the help of caring folks like her, might not be able to buy these basic items on their own. The thing that makes her actions so exemplary is the fact that she does this not for recognition or so she can build up community service hours in the event she one day decides to run for city council; she does it because she has a good heart and she likes helping people. I don't know whether her inspiration comes from Matthew 23:39 or Matthew 26:45 or maybe from some other life learning, but I think her actions are a great example for all of us regarding loving others. It must be what Paul had in mind when he wrote those words over 1900 years ago.

Oh, by the way, the person I'm writing about is pictured above on the far left, holding my now 50 year old little brother Mark. She's our Aunt Dee, and although at 14 she had her moments, we're all pretty proud of the way she "eventually" turned out.
Aunt Dee is proof that you don't have to spend your life working inside a specific church organization or living in Spankdanglidesh in order to help make the world better place to live.