I was raised with the axiom that: “to those whom much is given, much is expected”—and that because we had so much (relative) material wealth (3 square meals a day, roof over our house, warm clothes) we needed to help any and everyone we could.
This started in childhood (when I brought in every stray kid with a bad home life to my own home and shared any and every toy and bit of clothing I had)..continued in my teen years (when I was a candy striper in a local hospital and earned over 200 volunteer hours each school year and heard every sort of bad joke about the porno films featuring candy stripers)..and continued into my adulthood (when I tutored ESL while my kids were too young for school)..and continues even now with a busy career and 3+ kids and the busy life that having school-aged kids brings. My job requires frequent travel – I’m on the road nearly 50% of the time..yet I teach Sunday School, am a Girl Scout troop leader, Cub Scout assistant den leader and am the leader of a mission group that fund raises, packs & ships donated materials (bikes, medical equipment, sewing machines, fabric) for an impoverished area in Tanzania.
I get a lot of: “I don’t know how you do it” kind of comments..which frankly I don’t understand. There are a LOT of hours in a day. Maybe I have a bit less “free time” than some other folks..but I LOVE each of the ways I volunteer my time.
It’s a family affair: my kids, husband—we’re all involved..so it’s not like it’s all about me…it’s just how we spend our time (together as a family).
Maybe some families gather around the TV and watch a movie on HBO…while instead we head out to the 40’ Ocean shipping container and pack some donated clothes. It’s just…how we do things around here. My kids know nothing different..and seem to dig it, too.
They all know that we are among the most fortunate people in the world..we have a warm house, plenty of clothing and food. Because of this, they know that anything we have (extra clothes, an outgrown pair of winter boots) needs to go to someone else who can use it. Nothing should be wasted—it should be used and cared for as much as possible..then passed along to someone else who can use it if possible.
They all know that if they have a friend whose parents have lost their house, the friend is welcome to move in with us to finish out high school. It’s just…how things are around our place. Always room for one more at the dinner table, always something we can spare to give to others. And yeah, we’re on our second sponsored child in Ethiopia.
I don’t think we’re doing anything special here tho.. because I have friends who’ve adopted siblings (instantly increasing their family from 3 to 7 children) from Ethiopia. Now THAT is something amazing..taking in one of the 147 Million Orphans in Africa…now THAT is something that would help mankind.