When I think about where I have seen God in my Service Adventure experience, some instances come to mind right away:
- Marle putting her gloves on my frozen hands on our way down Pikes Peak (when all I could think about was how cold I was, and not the beauty around me or how the others must be feeling).
- The homeless man approaching me in tears looking for comfort, which I could offer him.
- My coworkers making sure everyone had a place to go for Thanksgiving.
- The beauty of the mountains against the first snowfall.
- The warm welcome we got at Beth-el when we first arrived, and the kindness and generosity the congregation continues to show toward us.
I am learning how often I react to the present out of fear for the future. I am learning how much I value my family, and how irrational some of my fears are. I am learning to both trust myself and push myself, while reminding myself that many things are out of my control.
Serving others continues to show me how every human has dignity and worth that cannot be measured against any other. That our mainstream culture’s emphasis on the individual and on our pleasure and comfort as the end goal is harmful to ourselves, not to mention the lives of others, and we need to work against it. That this work may not be easy, but most valuable things are not. The things I enjoy most about my job are talking with people I otherwise wouldn’t get to talk to, and serving people that need it in that moment. I want to continue to serve others, and this experience is helping me to understand what I believe are the best ways to go about this.
