"For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment...for all the riches which we have of every kind?
I am certainly not rich, but wealth is all relative. I have been extremely blessed with opportunities, a good education, a good job, a comfortable home, a wide support team of family & friends, and good health. "Unto whom much is given much is required" (D&C 82:3)...
"And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy...
This is true. In just the last few months, I have been brought to my knees and to tears multiple times in gratitude for all my blessings.
"And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another...
And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.
And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength."
I am grateful for the last verse and the phrase "every man according to that which he hath". I can't afford to give to every beggar I see. It's sad that there are deceptive people who take advantage of people's sympathies - they pretend to be homeless or use the money to buy drugs/cigarettes/alcohol and get into deeper trouble; it makes it hard for those who really need help to be taken sympathetically. I've tried to avoid this problem by giving people parts of my lunch - a sandwich here, a banana there - because it's healthier and more practical, but about half of them don't want it! Maybe they just ate and can't carry/store it well? I don't really understand but I won't judge...
Plan B Solution: Donate once a week, whether it be money or food. Volunteer when possible. If I give a dollar a week, that's $52 a year, but when I give a sandwich or something, it's more $$. So far the plan is working. My conscience is at peace.
Part 2 of Plan B - I've been looking for ways to follow BYU's motto: "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve!" Service is also the theme for our ward/stake (i.e. Church congregation) this year. My favorite way to serve is by sharing my talents and mentoring/teaching students, but I haven't found many of those opportunities yet.
I once bought a copy of Street Sense, a newspaper written and sold by homeless people, but that wasn't much. I was able to sing at a nursing home and pass out flyers for a food drive this month, but not much else. So glad I found Miriam's Kitchen! It's close to GW campus and Michelle Obama helped promote it - they use donations from local stores, farms & gardens to cook really good food. When choosing service opportunities, Dallin H. Oaks' recent address, "Sacrifice", came to mind...
"Just as the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is at the center of the plan of salvation, we followers of Christ must make our own sacrifices to prepare for the destiny that plan provides for us."
It's not sacrifice if we don't give up something valuable to us, so I thought SLEEP was appropriate to sacrifice. Ha! I somehow managed to wake up at 4:45am (!!) to make the 6:00-8:30am breakfast shift. I'm so glad I did - turns out they were short of volunteers. Too bad I wasn't allowed to take pictures...
I couldn't find the entrance at first, so I asked a man for directions. He signed that he was deaf, which got me really excited to practice the little bit of ASL I learned in high school (Ms. H. would be so proud!) and by watching interpreters at church! I asked him where to go to volunteer, and he led me to an underground garage entrance. We signed a bit more once I got in - was so happy to be able to use my ASL in the real world!
I wore a hairnet for the first time since my Safeway deli days (excluding for ballroom hair buns). They assigned me to the tea/coffee table (haha how ironic for a Mormon). Don't worry I wasn't tempted :) But I did almost burn my hands multiple times cuz I'm not used to handling scalding pitchers of coffee. I was flabbergasted by how much sugar many of them put on their cereal, grits and in their coffee. Tempted to give a nutrition lecture, but restrained myself. There were some interesting characters...one man said, "I'm gonna be frank, I've always had a thing for Asian women. I think they're very sophisticated." haha uh ok...
It is not easy being a Christian. But I hear it's worth it :)
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