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Peggy Keefe, BVM assists a food pantry visitor.
What are the rewards of volunteering?
When we see people in need and want to respond by helping in some way, we aren't even thinking of rewards. But once we start to volunteer, it isn't long before we realize that we are being rewarded in ways we hadn't anticipated.
What are these “real” rewards?
“Jesus said…I was hungry and you gave me food…I was a stranger and you welcomed me…I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers…(or sisters)…you did it for me.” Mathew 25:35, 40
What greater reward could there be?
Sacred Heart Food Pantry in Rock Island, Ill., is my spot for volunteering. Ministering to those who come to us in need is both a privilege and a challenge: a privilege, because the Lord looks on that ministering as done to Him; a challenge, because we need to deepen our realization that God is present in us all and with us all.
If we are attentive and alert, seeing Jesus in those to whom we minister can be possible, even a simple matter, made so by the innate goodness of so many of our people.
Grandmothers raising grandchildren, single mothers and single fathers, too, caring for three or four youngsters, two-parent family members suffering financially…they all come especially for the sake of the children they are nurturing. These are God's holy people, something we can realize here at the pantry as well as in our communities and families and parishes.
As we each greet those who come to the area of food supplies where we are stationed, and check with them for their preferences, it's no surprise to hear, “I'll take anything (or everything) you can give me.”
Expressions like this, words of thanks, smiles, all coming from the heart, are like the tiny whispering sound in which Elijah recognized the presence of God. What a great gift and reward it is to recognize the Lord, waiting to be discovered by us in these good people!
For those who hunger for nourishing food for themselves and their children, Sacred Heart Food Pantry is a place of help and of hope.
Without dedicated volunteers, it could not exist, and a great group of hardworking and inventive workers care very much that the ministry of feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger continues, not just one weekday, but all five.
Nan Merrill puts it so well in her version of Psalm 26:
“I walk with friends of integrity and associate with those who live in truth… I love the company of faith-filled people…”
Besides the expressions of gratitude made as people leave with their supplies of food, there are many others:
- A little Japanese lady, a survivor of Hiroshima, knit beautiful woolen scarves for the Friday volunteers last Christmas.
- A homeless man and his family, sleeping in their car to avoid being separated at shelters, asked for food, and for a blanket…just one. I offered him my two car blankets: one a gift, soft and warm acrylic; the other, a “relic,” a black woolen one ( ICA circa 1950s). He would only take one, and the “relic” at that, but with repeated and sincere thanks.
- A young woman, obviously new to the world of the food pantry, and very ill at ease, came for supplies for three. When I set her things on the counter, I smiled and said, “I hope this helps.” She reached over and gave me a huge and grateful hug before she hurried out.
To summarize those rewards:
- Having my world widened as I walk out of my comfort zone and meet people I ordinarily would not.
- Knowing that I have helped in some small way to lighten the burdens of people in need.
- Receiving gratitude from those I assist as a representative of many volunteers.
- Working with friendly, faith-filled people of integrity.
- Reading the signs of God's presence in the needy through little ordinary things that alert me to their goodness.
- Serving Jesus in the person of those who come for help.
- Becoming more aware of the presence of Jesus Christ in all of God's people.
I'm quite surprised to note that, strangely enough, this comes to a total of seven…the mystical number of Scriptures! In other words, the rewards and blessing are countless.
About the author: Sister Margaret Keefe, BVM (Paul Leone) is retired in Rock Island, Ill.
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