Delivering Groceries
Read: Matthew 25:34-40 and UMH 481 (the Prayer of St. Francis)
I remember hearing those words: Heidi was talking with Paul Blunden, saying, “Charlie is retired now, he can help you.”
Ah, the joys of being volunteered.
In almost no time at all, though, any resentment moved through reluctance to affirmation; and so my adventure began.
Most weeks I get to deliver GPUMC’s groceries to Immanuel UMC in Eastpointe for their food pantry, and I now look forward to this very important part of my week. Generally I pull up and before I can close my door, there are my three new friends, Beth, Jean, and Gaye, pushing their carts out of the church and right toward my car. Hearing “Hi, Charlie,” and “see you next week, Charlie” makes my day.
Some weeks (like the week after Christmas) my load is kind of scanty, and I feel a bit embarrassed. I try to apologize for the small amount, but my apology is generally brushed off. “Something is better than nothing,” is a common refrain; and I can’t count how many times I’ve been told, “We couldn’t do this without you.” (That ‘you’ means all those in our congregation who donate the food and the gift cards, it certainly doesn’t just mean me.) Like the folks at Immanuel, we spend our money to help fill their pantry, but then they spend their time and effort to empty it again – reaching out and feeding ‘the least of these, our brothers and sisters’ who are in need.
It really is a simple thing, loading those groceries into my car and delivering them to Immanuel – at least that’s what I thought it would be until I was actually doing it.
When I get out of my car and help with the unloading, when I see the carts full of groceries headed into the church, I realize that I’m not just delivering groceries, I’m delivering Love. Thank you for giving me so much Love to deliver!
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for allowing us to be your hands, carrying groceries and Love to our brothers and sisters in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Charlie van Becelaere
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