Serving hurts

Serving others isn’t something that is meant to be easy. Quite often, we must be sacrificial when we serve. Today, I’ve been reminded of that in a very real, physical way.

There are those who donate time in order to serve those inside or outside the church. Many sacrifice financially in order to keep churches, missions, and those in need afloat.  Some give up security and comfort in order to be missionaries to foreign lands. Others abandon the “normal” life most lead in order to do something radical for God. Sometimes the pain is physical, like mine is today.

I was blessed to be able to volunteer to help with Clothe-A-Child, a charity in our area that helps provide clothing for needy children. Everyone meets at Kohl’s and each child is able to spend $100 on shirts, pants, shoes, socks, any kind of clothes. Kohl’s trucks in a ton of items that are being cleared out and gives the kids phenomenal prices. Since the clothes are actually being purchased by a non-profit organization, there is no sales tax added on either. Volunteers walk around with the children and their parents and help keep track of how much they are spending, trying to get as close to $100 as possible.

I was nervous before we started this morning. I’m not really a terribly outgoing person and I was a little anxious about meeting someone new, then guiding them and their child through the store. I was blessed to be partnered with a mother and her five year old son. He was not much younger than my oldest son, so I had a pretty good idea what kind of clothes would fit and where to help them look. We were able to get him a pair of shoes, two pairs of pants, socks, and several shirts, totaling $99.47.

How was this sacrificial and painful? Well, we had to be there before 6AM. I’m not a morning person at all. Getting up at 5AM was not an easy thing for me. However, that wasn’t the part that hurt. After I arrived at Kohl’s at 5:45AM, I wasn’t able to sit down until I got back in my truck at 10:45AM. Five hours of standing in line, walking around, and moving furniture. I realize for most people this probably isn’t a big deal, but my day job is pretty sedentary. I sit in front of a computer screen for nine hours a day (most days) and don’t move around much or do any physical labor. Plus, I’m overweight and that doesn’t help. All this adds up to sore knees, ankles, legs, and a hip that hurts too.

Do I like the pain? Yes and no. Nobody likes to hurt, or to have difficulty moving around. However, I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. Being able to see Jesse’s face when he picked out his clothes and his mother’s thanks after they checked out more than makes up for the pain I’m feeling now. If receiving the blessing means going through this kind of pain, sign me up for more. Serving hurts, but knowing that what we were able to do through God’s abundance brought joy to the families of 700+ kids dulls the pain quite a bit.