Confession: For the longest time, I thought I disliked serving people.
The reality was that I love serving people, but hate being imposed upon.
I recently had the pleasure of doing outreach with my church in an assisted living home. After some songs, Bible verses, and a short message, we chatted with the people who lived there. One of them, an obese diabetic in a wheelchair, mentioned that she did Mass in a room down the hall every 2nd Sunday, and said it would be great if we could come.
Years of guilt-tripping has taught me to recognize an imposition so I can escape it before I am asked. So that’s what I did. I was one of the first to leave, and drove out of there a bit faster than I should have.
Imagine her surprise next week when she saw me there!
So I helped with communion, handing out the wine and the bread. Most of the attendees could hardly move, and needed help just getting around.
And the woman who led mass? She has no legs.
I don’t mean she can’t use her legs – below the middle of her thighs are thick, round stumps – then nothing but air.
So this woman cannot move around. She’s stuck in an assisted living home. She’s old and at least 300 lbs – not winning any beauty contests there. Plus, she has no legs.
Despite that, she had one of the most cheerful spirits out of anyone I had ever met.
Possibly it’s because she knows that no matter where she is in life, she can always do something that makes a difference.
If she can, so can you.
