|
|
Service for young and old
I generally enjoy sandwiches, especially when I get to choose what’s in the middle — something I like. When I heard some time ago that I could be in the middle, I wasn’t quite so sure about sandwiches anymore. My wife, Ursula, and I happen to be in the demographic sometimes described as the sandwich generation, and we’re in the middle! People in this usually lamentable position find themselves between children who are going to college and parents who are growing frail and needing care. The weight of the responsibilities that accompany this phase of life leaves baby boomers, who currently occupy the space in the middle of this sandwich, seeing only the challenges and the burdens. But Ursula and I have been privileged to see some of the lessons and the blessings. For us, the top part of the sandwich is my mom, Cynthia, who is near 80 years old, and her husband (my stepfather), Clifford, in his mid-80s. The bottom of the sandwich is our two boys, James and Lee. Cynthia and Clifford live in South Africa, our former home. From time to time they come for an extended stay, usually four to six months. Each time they visit they become involved in prison ministry and serve meals at a homeless shelter. They’ve also developed a prayer ministry with various people in our area. Each evening at our dinner table when they’re here, we have the privilege of hearing about some interesting people they’ve met and ministered to during the day. Later, after praying for each of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren by name, Cynthia and Clifford also add the names of prisoners, homeless persons, and persons who are hurting. So rather than dealing with our fears that they would be bored while we’re away at work, instead we find that they are enriching our lives through accounts of their meaningful engagements in voluntary service. Instead of experiencing loneliness, they are expanding their community and enlarging our horizons — giving faces and names and stories to many people we may never meet in our new hometown. The older of our boys, who is part of the lower half of the sandwich, went to Spain after high school. There he volunteered at a drug rehab center where he had his first encounter with men dying from AIDS. In a small village, as he touched the shrinking lives of these AIDS victims, his world grew. He learned to speak Spanish fairly fluently, and he discovered God’s call. He returned to college in the United States, went to Philadelphia after graduating and worked with an agency that ministers healing and hope to those trying to survive the scourge of AIDS. Today, his path has led him to preparations for medical school in order to go to Africa someday, to live his call as an agent of life and hope. In the middle of this sandwich, surrounded by octogenarian parents and teenage boys, Ursula and I are learning important lessons about the value of voluntary service. Those who serve bring blessing, encouragement and hope. We’re learning that they also receive many blessings in return — meaning and purpose, community and friendships, expanding horizons, and a sense of call. We need these gifts of voluntary service at all ages to keep our lives vital and fulfilling. Mennonite Mission Network hosts service opportunities for young and old who want to be a blessing — making a difference for good in the world — and who at the same time are ready to be surprised with the unexpected gifts that come to those who serve. Sometimes they even encounter Jesus, who said, “Anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.” In this issue: Features Highlights Viewpoints |
