A few weeks ago I was having a major pity party like no
other. Probably the biggest pity party
I’ve had for myself in a long long time.
I was down on myself because I’m living hand-to-mouth, I’m lonely, and
it just felt like there were a million other things dragging me down. I was desperate for someone to give me the
answer to get out of the abyss that it seemed like I was in. So I texted several friends and they all had
uplifting words of support and strength, however, I still had that empty tug of
loneliness.
Then I got a response from Kimberly Morgan (I worked with
her at the News-Enterprise). She told me that I needed to quit feeling sorry
for myself and get out and do something for somebody else. I was surprised at her words, and also
surprised that she hit the nail on the head.
I really was feeling sorry for myself.
I had no idea that’s what I was doing, but she was right!
A couple of nights later I went to Warm Blessings, the soup
kitchen here in E-town, to serve dinner and I’ll tell you what; not only did I
stop feeling sorry for myself, but I also realized that I have been incredibly
blessed. The first night I went, I was
amazed at how moved I was by all of the people that I was serving. Many of them are physically disabled, which I
found sad because not only are they hungry but they also have a physical
disadvantage that they have to deal with every single day. I left there and
thanked God for blessing me so much.
Those people were born into a family that they had no control over, just
like I was.
The second night I went, I was even more moved after a woman
came up to me and asked if I knew of any homeless shelters nearby because she
& her husband had just become homeless that morning. I felt my stomach leap to my throat and sent
her to one of the women in charge of the establishment because I didn’t have
any idea if there was one or not. It ended up that all they could do was give
her a note that said that she & her husband had been okayed to stay the
night in the parking lot of Warm Blessings and sleep in their van so that the
police wouldn’t run them off. That night
when I left there, once again I thanked God for everything I could think of,
but this time I thanked him all the way down to the gas in my car. It really is amazing what we take for
granted.
I have been raised and lived in the lap of luxury my entire
life. Not just monetarily, but also in my family & friends. I’m not gonna
lie; right now I’m living hand-to-mouth & it sucks. That was one of
the reasons for the pity party I was having that started this entire experience.
After serving at Warm Blessings, it opened my eyes to several things:
- I was born into a family in which I could call on ANY of my family members if I was really to the point of being destitute, and they would be there to support me within seconds without a second thought. The people at Warm Blessings don’t have that. More than likely their family either is nowhere to be found (possibly because they’re not alive anymore) or they’re in just as bad of a situation, if not worse, as the people there.
- I have lived in the lap of luxury my entire life. I have never wanted for anything and had NO idea that everybody didn’t live that way until I graduated high school and started working at the Swope Freedom Plan.
- I grew up in a family where there wasn't a second thought as to whether or not you went to college; it was assumed that you would. I went to college on two academic scholarships, and what those didn't cover, my parents paid for. I pissed those scholarships away after a year and a half of partying & skipping class at WKU and had to come home. I had no idea that that was a luxury that I was blessed with; to not only be smart enough to get academic scholarships, but also to have parents who footed the bill for what wasn’t covered by those scholarships!
I have always admired and had the utmost respect for those
people who give their money to charities.
But what I admire & respect even more than that are the people who
give their time. Time is a priceless thing but yet it is so often wasted on
frivolous things. I am saying this as someone who is the guiltiest of it. One
person in particular that I’ve always been in awe of is Dana Taylor. She is one
of the biggest and best (not to mention most humble) philanthropists I know. I’ve
always wondered where she gets the time and energy for all the volunteerism she
does, especially as a single mom working full time in Louisville nonetheless. I
respected that drive in her, but assumed that it wasn’t in me and I was “too
tired” or “didn’t have enough time” to do the things that she does. But yet I did
have time to sit on my ass at my apartment and watch hours of TV or walk around
Target for an hour spending money on crap that I didn’t need and in all reality
couldn’t afford.
In closing, I want to clarify that I am in no way bragging
about anything that I’ve discussed. I’m
not looking for a pat on the back for volunteering at the soup kitchen. I’m not
bragging that I’m smart or that I have a successful family. I just wanted to
share this experience because I had absolutely no idea that I was such a
blessed person until the experience that I’ve had at Warm Blessings. I have
taken the things that I’ve learned and realized that I should be ashamed
of the way I have treated those blessings as though they’re something I deserve
rather than as tools to move mountains.
One thing I can’t stand is someone who is constantly looking
for a handout. Who would’ve ever though
that I was one of those people?
“What you give ought to be in direct relationship to what you’ve received. If you have been blessed with a great deal, then you have a lot of giving to do.”
-Johnetta B Cole
“The best response to the long list of social ills is to put into effect the Noah principle. That is, stop looking for
