40 Days of Lenten Service - A Concluding Thought

Seeing as how it is Good Friday today, I thought it would be fitting to wait until today to give my thoughts and experiences for the entire 40 Days.

When I began this journey more than a month ago, I never imagined how hard it would be to do this. I mean, how hard would it be to find someone who needed a random act of kindness? I can understand if the day passes you by and you are not looking for something, but I was actively searching. Yes, it is VERY easy to do something when it involves money, but not so easy when you have a tight budget.

At the beginning, I felt some unseen force was steering me in the right directions. It was easy. The first week of this, I kept seeing opportunities everywhere. It was almost like something was pointing these out to me and saying, "Here is an example of what you need to do." I felt the joy of being able to bring a shred of light to some of the darkest depths. I even had excess time to be able to write about it.

As the days rolled along, I kept finding it harder and harder to find those in need. Granted, I always had the fallback option of gas, gift cards or Starbucks, but I wanted to do something more. I wanted to find things with more meaning. Is society just so geared to not showing any signs of weakness to the general public? Have we just given up?

This is why this adventure was so meaningful for me. I wanted to show that humanity has not given up. There are still a few of us out there willing to make sacrifices to benefit the greater good.

Granted, this country and its philanthropic roots are great about rallying around a single cause or disaster. We have seen this in Connecticut, New Orleans, Alabama and NY. But what about everyday? There are a lot of things we can do every single day.

This is why I feel ashamed when I say this task was difficult. It was difficult for me because of the time I have to spare everyday. My day is filled with carpool, cooking meals, kids school, work, family, etc. Is it selfish of me to think a random act of servitude will impede my daily schedule, so I shouldn't do it?

Here's the thing, if everyone of us take 10 - 15 minutes out of our busy lives to help someone less fortunate, imagine what the world would be like. Some people can do this with money, while others can do this by sharing a conversation with someone on the street. We constantly strive to pass on what we have learned to the next generation. We need to pass on the fact we all live in this world and EVERYONE deserves a chance to have peace and joy in our hearts.