That's Us, Honey! (Perquimans Weekly 4/23/2020)

My grandmother, momma’s mother, taught school for 30 years. She taught generations of seventh graders and threw between 1 and 200 erasers in that time period. Jean Williams has been gone from us 3 years this month, but I’m amazed at how much I am still learning from her.

So many of my memories with her were surrounding serving others in some way. I once asked as a child, where the wheels were for the Meals On Wheels program and she said, “That’s us, honey!”

Volunteerism is a profound thing in my family and I’m just now realizing it’s not necessarily the norm. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, & my parents have all been people who served others in a volunteer way: Church meals, teaching in Sunday school, visiting the sick or shut in, fixing something yummy to bring to a friend, fixing something broken for a friend. My husband is an Eagle Scout and retired Coastguardsman, so serving others is important to him as well. 

This world seems frustrating and dark a lot. I completely understand. But my faith says we are the salt and light of the world. When I feel like nothing can make a difference, I hear “That’s us, honey!” I want to be the hands and feet of Christ. You don’t have to be a religious person to care about these things. Human compassion is beautiful!

Our boys are growing up, ages 12 & 8. We look for opportunities to make things better for others and to teach them how important it is. They are both Scouts with Boy Scouts & Cub Scouts here in Hertford and it’s an awesome organization with good leaders. We found a way to serve the homeless meals in Elizabeth City once a month with a group from our church. We recently helped serve truckloads of groceries to our community friends alongside other sweet Scouts, volunteers, and the Sheriff’s Department. I tell you this to inspire and invite you to join in the volunteer thinking!

America is amazing. I don’t give a hoot about the politicians, I’m talking about you people! Americans see a need for protective face masks and they dust off sewing machines and make them! Americans pool together on social media to support local restaurants and businesses with call in and take out services. Americans know many people are out of work and struggling, so they donate to food banks. We are a resourceful nation of people who serve one another and it makes me thankful and proud. 

I think we can do more. I hope that when a semblance of normal returns to our lives, we won’t forget each other. Love one another isn’t just for pandemics and disasters. It’s an all the time way of thinking. This nation has the resources, but so many times it lacks the wheels, hands, and feet. We should look around to see the needs and the solution and understand that the rest of this is us, honey!