"There but for the grace of God"

I'm not very consistent at this blogging thing yet, but I'll work on it. I sat down at the computer to open up my new website to check stats, and remembered that I actually have a blog. It's Saturday afternoon, and we just finished up at Shepherd's Pantry, our monthly food bank, and I thought that would be a good thing to write about today.

Lessons learned, or re-learned, as the case may be:

Seeing the people there this morning was, as always, humbling. It seems that as a country, we stigmatize those in need of assistance. We see a line of people outside a soup kitchen or outside a shelter, and will ourselves to make them invisible. I'm as guilty as anyone I guess. But, after all of the times I've been able to be there to serve these people, I hope that I am getting better at not judging others.

For the most part, each and every person there was grateful for what we had to offer. We instituted some changes this month, and warned of other changes for next month. We only had one person complain about it.

We have all walks of life come through our doors. Being in need is nothing to be ashamed of. Nor should it be something we use to judge people. Next time you see someone needing help, take a moment to ascertain their position. Are you in a position to safely help them? If so, do so.

Are there people who scam the system? Of course there are, there are some in every system. Does that mean we should judge all based on the few? No, not at all. Weed out the scammers as much as possible, but don't let it effect those who are truly in need. It is better to give something to someone who doesn't need it than to not give something to someone who desperately does.

One person in particular sticks out today. A woman and her young daughter came in today. She entered the church through our back door, and looked totally lost. We guided her through the process, and fed her and her daughter. It was her first time ever going to a food bank. She had just lost her job, and was in need. We had a couple of people talk with her, and let her know that we're here for her if she needs additional help.

"There but for the grace of God." We've heard that so many times that it becomes just white noise. Everyday, people are put in situation not of their choosing. Who are we to be the judge of their lives?

Thanks for listening.

~V~