There is more than one way to show love to people. We all have something to offer, and we can all be blessed by people with the love of Jesus in their hearts. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jazzed about working with the people who Jesus speaks through in these ways.
To truly set the scene for this beautiful story, I’ll fill you in on the plan. Our Community Life department dreamed about building bridges between the generations during the quarantine. Our members in the 70+ age range were to receive goodie bags from a team of volunteers delivery drivers. In their bags they received chocolates, a roll of Wilhelmina mints, and 3 blank note cards. Each of these note cards were intended for a family from our Ridge Kids Ministry. All this in hopes that the recipient would pass their prayers and encouragement to the families raising up the next generation of Fearless Followers. There were 107 bags packed, and 17 volunteers to deliver the packages around our greater geographical area.
I actually don’t know who was expected to be the most honored by this idea, but I can’t find any cog in this blessing machine that didn’t come out ahead. I’ve read over the responses of the drivers, and they were overwhelmingly positive at having the opportunity to serve and connect in this way. I have heard of the thankfulness of the recipients at being seen and remembered. As a parent of Ridge Kids, knowing that there are “highly experienced adults” praying over my family is the boost I need after eleventy-quadrillian-thousand days in quarantine with my children. People were able to connect in a new way, 6 feet apart, through doors or from patios to windows. One man even took the time to bust out the ol’ typewriter to express his gratitude and request more cards so he could serve more families through encouragement. This is supposed to be a story about him, but community isn’t about just one person…. is it? Community is about loving people the way Jesus does.
Do you want to be a part of something like this? Our teams are always praying for direction, thinking of new ideas, and creating teams to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We started by sending notes of encouragement to Vista Springs and we would love to continue that connection with our neighbors! We invite you to join us in serving their staff and residents with notes of prayer and encouragement! For more ideas, please feel free to reach out to care@fearlessfollower.org.