Ever since the big Boy Scout Breakfast at my church on Saturday I have
been thinking about volunteers. No, I actually started thinking about
it on Friday when went to the church kitchen and discovered that
someone had turned on the big refrigerators we use only for big
events.
I almost turned them off. I thought I had mistakenly left them on
from the week before. I found out that one of the Boy Scout Leaders
had been in at 6 a.m. to turn them on.
That is dedication. But it is only the tip of the iceberg. I think
that as a pastor, and before this career as a nurse working with so
many volunteers, I forget how much they give and how they have to fit
the time they do give in between their jobs and families.
I am a professional do-gooder in a sense. I get paid for what I do
for others. And I like to think that I give more time than required
so that I am giving back, too. One pastor told me that he figured
that he worked an extra ten hours on things outside his own parish and
that was his volunteer work.
It is not the same however. Pastors get to schedule it all into our
days, and while we may appear very busy, it is not nearly as hard as
trying to juggle a nine-to-five (or more) job and then putting time
into your church or your child's school or the scouts or other causes.
So maybe this column is more for me and for the pastors who read it to
remind us to appreciate everyone who shows up for that committee night
or fund-raiser or council meeting or comes in at six in the morning to
turn on the refrigerator while I am probably sitting in my bathrobe
writing.
Time is precious in this world but the time we give to others is the
most precious. If we are good stewards of time we will be careful to
balance our jobs and our families and the things outside we find
important enough to give to.
I just want to thank all of you who do so much for our church and our
community and our world. You reflect the one who gives first.
Lord, I give you thanks for the people in this
church and in this community that you have given for me to work
with. Amen
