...Dinners. How do you measure...measure a year? This year, my season to measure dinners was the month of November. Autumn is my season to spend a few hours each Friday cooking and serving at our local soup kitchen. It's one of those things I look forward to. I like the feeling that I can give back to my community with just a small sacrifice of my time and a little bit of cooking creativity. Some of my menu items included soup and sandwiches, shepherd's pie, salmon croissants, and all-the-turkey-and-fixings-leftovers-you-can-eat! 
Over the past 4 weeks myself and approximately 40 volunteers served lunch each Friday to approximately 614 people. That's an average of 153 people per day. Multiply that by 7, and you get 1,074 for a weekly total. Multiply THAT by 52 weeks in a year, and we will have served approximately 55,874 people by years' end. I often wonder as I see the same patrons return, day after day, week after week, month after month, season after season, if there is any hope that someday their lives will improve for the better. I don't know the answer to that. I only know that my opportunity to serve at the soup kitchen puts my own life into a greater perspective.
I'm grateful each day of every season for so many things that I can measure in my life. My family and friends, food a plenty, a comfortable home, health, and happiness. The knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father who blesses me beyond my deserving. I'm thankful for 'daylight and sunsets and midnights' and yes, even the opportunity to serve those 'cups of coffee.'
Multiply the number of meals served by the number 2 and the minimum number of cups of coffee that we serve over the course of a year is 111,748. Next time you have a few extra of those five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes, take a moment to pause and reflect on what you have. Then step outside of the box and find something to do for someone who may have less. You'll find the minutes you spend serving will fly by!
And always remember to 'Share love. Give love. Spread love. Measure the love. Measure your life in love.'
2 comments:
Well said! I love that you do this...
Nice.
Tonight my reality was put in check when I was driving in my nice warm car from my gym, to my snuggly warm house with more leftover food than we can eat, when I looked over and saw a FAMILY pushing a shopping cart. I happened to be talking to my husband who is working away from home--and who wishes he could be closer. I think we need to be a little more grateful.
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