I'm Hungry

I had a friend tell me that she enjoys my blog postings, but sometimes they are too long for her to have time to read. Oops! That sounds like some sermons I've heard. I'm going to try for shorter. I don't promise anything. Sometimes we just like to hear our own voice. Do you recognize the difference between hunger and appetite? Last Wednesday evening, I visited my friend Eileen Ayuso at the walk-in medical clinic sponsored by The Shalom Project at Green Street United Methodist Church here in Winston-Salem. The clinic averages seeing about 60 - 70 people each time it opens its doors. The staff is all volunteers! On Wednesday, I met doctors, PAs, nurses, pharmacists, folks with knowledge of medical claim forms, and people with no medical background at all, all giving their time to serve others. I don't know if all the volunteers are Christian. I'm pretty sure that it doesn't make a difference to the patients. Eileen would probably like for all volunteers to be Christian, but I think she would probably settle for anyone who has a heart to serve their fellow man. Each and every one of the clinic volunteers have a hunger to serve. So, you don't want to spend several hours in a crowded facility working with sick people, but you love to work with children. I know of opportunities to do everything from tutoring one-on-one to playing with children in a healthy, nurturing environment. All it takes is a hunger to serve. Okay, pressing the flesh is not your thing, but you love to garden. Both Maple Springs UMC and Green Street UMC have community garden plots. You can press the dirt instead of the flesh and, at the same time, feed the poor and hungry. All it requires is that you have a hunger for service. Do you like to help others shop for clothes? Would you like to run a little clothing shop of your own? Green Street UMC and the House of Service both have clothes pantries. I'm sure that there are others locally as well. Clothes don't get received, sorted, cleaned, checked, stocked, and made available by themselves. The greatest requirement to work in a clothes pantry is a hunger for service. Can you cook? Okay, a more difficult question... can you cook for hundreds? I have a friend who helps to cook and serve one day a week every week at the Samaritan Inn. She has a real hunger (please excuse the pun) for service. Do you enjoy grocery shopping, especially when it isn't your own money you are spending? There are lots of unfortunate people visiting lots of food pantries. There just doesn't ever seem to be enough volunteers to keep them stocked and open. All it takes to qualify is a hunger for service. "Mother, I'm hungry." "It's only an hour until dinner time." "I know, but I'm still really, really hungry." "Well, there are some carrot sticks in the refrigerator. Have some of them." "Ugh! I was thinking more about a couple of the chocolate chip cookies you have hidden behind the canned tomatoes on the top shelf of the pantry." "You aren't suffering from hunger. You are suffering from appetite! You know that there is a difference and you can wait until dinner." You probably recognize some version of this conversation. I had it more than once with my mother and Sara had it with our sons. They are probably having it with their children. There is a difference in an appetite for service and a hunger for service. An appetite for service sounds like, "That's probably a worthy cause, but my favorite TV show is that night. Do you have something that doesn't take as long to do and on another night?" or "That's a good thing you are doing, but I don't think I would feel safe in that neighborhood. Maybe you could ask me again the next time there is a volunteer need." A hunger for service sounds like, "What a great idea! Tell me what you need for me to do and get out of my way!" or "I have some extra time. Can you put me to good use somewhere?" My prayer is that I will never judge what any person does or does not do with their time, whether they have an appetite or a hunger, and that I will never loose my own hunger for service. God is good.