A Reflection of Service
When you think about doing service, what initially comes to mind? For me, it’s building homes, feeding folks at a shelter, or even getting a group together to pick up trash on the beach. The thing is, leading a group of college students to do service in Montgomery really opened my eyes to the fact that service goes far beyond a simple task. When you have privilege and spend your time doing something for the “needy” it’s easy to feel like you deserve a pat on the back. The thing is, we so easily forget that those “needy” people are still people. They have their own stories. Life lessons to share. Yes, you are doing service, but you’re not doing anyone a favor when doing so. I met a lot of wonderful people during my travels and they all taught me something. Reminded me that doing something for your fellow man is just the right thing to do. You don’t deserve special accolades for being a kind person. Sharing your ear, time, food. Whatever you give will come back to you and sometimes in a more bountiful way if your intention is true.
For instance, I had a chance to sit in with a second-grade classroom on day one. The class was quite small, only 5 students, but my goodness the patience that is required to teach those kids is unremarkable. They were at the age where they could begin to pick up on social cues and body language but didn’t always appropriately use that information. It took 10 minutes just to get down the hallway for a bathroom break, and no they weren’t bad kids, they just needed time and respect from their instructor. I could see that in their teacher. How important it was to connect with each student in order to give them the best in their education, but imagine folks that have to teach 20+.
On days two and three while completing administrative work I learned that the time spent on those tasks allowed the church staff to work on more person-centered responsibilities. Allowing them to touch more lives. It could have been seen as boring work, but there was a bigger picture. We weren’t there to do the flashiest thing but to support the community in whatever capacity they needed.
The strongest example of community was during our final days when we cleaned the apartments of seniors who were supported by the church in the hopes that they could continue to live on their own for a more extended period of time. It was hard for my students to see some of the conditions folks were living in, but regardless of the immediate culture shock, they remembered the lessons we had been learning all week and treated their hosts with respect as they were being invited into their homes. The same was true for our game night with differently abled folks. They invited us into their home and while it started as an uncomfortable experience, including for myself, it was important to reflect on that bias and lean into the uncomfortableness.
In the end, the time spent unplugged and doing what’s right with others, reminded me that I need to do more of it in my own backyard. While I currently sit on the board for a non-profit, I think I need to do more. Chicago deserves it because it has given me so much already, so I will be researching ways to spend time with the kids in the community. My question to you, is what are you going to do to serve others this year?