The world economy may not have been in good shape last Saturday, but God’s economy was alive and well in service as volunteers from Lake Forest-Davidson, St. Albans, and Davidson United Methodist came together at a Samaritan’s Feet shoe distribution project at Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson.
There were two doors, two lines, and two different sets of people waiting to share with one another. The line moving into the back door included over 100 volunteers waiting to sign in and get instructions to distribute shoes in love to kids who needed them to go to school. The line moving into the front door area were those who had registered their needs to receive shoes. They didn’t know that they were also part of God’s economy.
Volunteers sat in rows of chairs facing an empty chair awaiting a child in need. But the volunteers had needs also. They needed to serve their God by serving others. In between these two needs, between each pair of chairs, was a basin of water used to wash the feet: need meeting need in touch and care.
©2011 DavidsonNews.net/Used with permission
©2011 DavidsonNews.net/Used with permission
The delight of the morning was seeing the joy spill off the faces in both chairs as the serving volunteer worked to find a pair of sneakers that fit the size, gender, and personality of the students in need and the child offered back spontaneous thanks for the new shoes.
There were some great God stories. A high school track star humbly waited to receive what was available, and looked down in delight at a sleek pair of zippered shoes that she could wear with pride at her new high school. A grandmother, who had brought three small children to be fitted, watched as her grandchildren received sturdy pairs of black, white, and pink shoes with socks. As each child squealed in delight, the tension in her shoulders lessened, and she leaned over and gave the volunteer a quick hug of thanks. Her burdens of caring for these children must be heavy; she was giving thanks that others helped her carry this “shoe” part of the burden.
God’s economy is better than the world economy. In the world, the rich tend to get richer and the poor get poorer. In God’s economy, He always moves us toward sharing with one another. Saturday morning was a visual demonstration of God’s economy
©2011 DavidsonNews.net/Used with permission
Observations by Bobbi Campbell
Also check out DavidsonNews.net article "New shoes for school, thanks to Samaritan's Feet http://davidsonnews.net/2011/08/20/a-new-pair-of-shoes-for-school-thanks-to-samaritans-feet/
