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As I awoke this morning to the soft patter of rain on my roof and a cat who wanted attention I was immediately struck by how grateful I am and how many blessing I have. Today, a day to remember those things we are thankful for is a blessing in itself.
Whether you are spending today with friends, family, serving, or even if by chance you are spending it alone I hope and pray that your heart will be overflowing with hope, gratitude, and an awareness of your blessings.
Friends and family, you are treasures in my life. I am privileged to share this journey with you and I count you as blessings. My life is also filled with safety, security, warmth, food, water, work, service, community, faith, and so many other things that many in this world do not have.
Mostly my heart is filled by the love of God who saved me, chose me, loved me, and have rescued my life when I did not deserve it. That gift alone fills me and brings me such joy.
Today, I am thankful, deeply thankful and everywhere I look there is even more to be thankful for.
Over the last few months I have made one major change in my life and time. Now that I am free to make connections with others in the communityand serve as I desire I have found that I am absolutely loving being a volunteer. I am now connected with 10 different organizations in the Portland Metro area and I spend about 25-30 hours each month giving back to my community. It might be through serving a dinner, or my weekly volunteering at the local hospital, but a lot of the time comes through one-time special events. Here are a few events I have served at over the last two months.
- Community Forum on Hunger, Homelessness, and Health care – agencies, churches, and individuals came together to discuss and strategize about how to meet the needs of those struggling during these tough economic times. The partnership and unity exhibited through this and through connections that have occurred since this event has been amazing.
- Compassion Beaverton – a free medical and dental clinic that assisted those who can not afford care – over 600 volunteers were involved
- Medical Teams International Gala – once a year this organization holds a gala event that is a fund-raising event – over 250 volunteers were involved and it was the largest event they have ever held (both in size and money raised)
- Marysville School support – This Portland elementary school burned down on Monday, probably due to arson. Hands on Portland, a volunteer clearinghouse house, was able to raise over 100 volunteers within 2 hours earlier this week. So many people wanted to assist that they had to cut off the registrations. We donated 4-5 hours today cleaning, moving furniture, painting, landscaping, etc. so that the teachers and students have a school that they can hold classes in starting Monday morning. Many organizations have donated a tremendous amount to help this school recover as all supplies were lost including personal items such as backpacks, school supplies, and coats. One local company (Nike) has donated new backpacks filled with school supplies and coats for every student, and an area bookstore (Powells) is helping supply books for all the classrooms.
