A Change in Mood
I hate to admit it, but I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Since diving back under the covers wasn’t really an option for me today, I did some yoga, took a shower, got dressed, made another cup of coffee, and headed out.
The parking lot was surprisingly full for a 9am on Thursday. I wasn’t expecting anyone and couldn’t recall that anything was going on. But then I remembered, the San Clemente Military Family Outreach (SCMFO) volunteers were assembling the layettes that they’ll give away on Saturday to military families who are expecting a baby soon.
I put my things in the office, turned on the heat, and then popped my head into the Fellowship Hall. It was humming with the work they were doing, putting baby clothes together with blankets, socks, diapers, and lots of other things that these families might need. I looked on for just a moment before I went back to my desk.
Somehow, my mood had altered a little and I wasn’t quite as grumpy. The phone rang and I was off into the work that I had to do today (scheduling, reviewing this newsletter, finding something for someone, and on and on).
After a little while, Judy (the president of SCMFO) came in and said, “We’re all finished and ready for you.” In just an hour and 20 minutes, the volunteers had assembled almost 50 layettes and they wanted me to take their photo and bless the bundles. So, that’s what I did, and I was struck by the thought of all the hands that it takes to do something like this event that SCMFO is doing. Just look at all those layette bundles!
Many of your hands purchased those baby items and brought them in to church in the month of December (and there were so many baby items around the Christmas tree in the church’s entryway!). Other hands sorted those items into types and sizes of baby items. Still other hands moved them into place for assembly. There were at least 15 pairs of hands helping to put those sweet bundles together. And even more helping hands will show up on Saturday morning to hand them out.
Something about having a front row seat to this act of love shifted my mood for the better. Seeing this work happen in front of me, thinking about all the people that are using their energy and time to produce a tangible piece of God’s love for others they do not know – all of that changed my perspective on the day.
In Matthew 22, we have this scene where one of the Pharisees asks Jesus what the greatest commandment in the Law is and Jesus replies that it is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Then Jesus goes on to say, “This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
On Sunday, we sang the first commandment as our opening song which is rather catchy and rolls around in my head even now while I am reading those words. Of course, the song doesn’t include the second commandment of loving our neighbors as ourselves, but I think that is okay: loving our neighbors and those around us is best lived out instead of just being sung.
My day will move on, as yours will, and what that holds for each of us is yet unknown. But I am fairly sure that whatever is to come, there will be an opportunity for us to love others around us. So let us do just that, no matter our mood of the day.
