Monday, September 6, 2010

Unplanned Holiness

I hope your Labor Day weekend was great. Let me tell you about a great story about a Labor of Love that happened this weekend.
Last week, one of our members fell and had a severe break of her leg that will require her to use a wheel chair for some time. She and her husband live in a beautiful farm house but there was no handicap access into the home. The challange was to figure out how to get a ramp built into the home before she was released to go home for a long recuperation.
That is where the amazing part of this story begins. As this Labor Day weekend began, Jeff Smolek found out about the dilema facing this couple. He sent out an email to the United Methodist Men on this past Friday that said the following.
"(The husband) is overwhelmed with finances, time and concerns. Plain and simple I volunteered to get the ramp built. I honestly do not know where I will get the time and help, but with His help it WILL get done....I am sending this e-mail to the Thursday Night guys, Friday Morning guys, Methodist Men and possibly even SNL high schoolers. The timing stinks with a holiday weekend coming up and the SNLers going back to school, but I am sure (the wife) did not plan this misfortune...(I am not sure how but)....I darn well know the Lord has not made something too big for Him and us to handle.
Within two hours, volunteers with love, tools and compassionate hearts responded. A total of 15 men spent time this weekend working to build the ramp. It is now Monday night, three days since the email, and I just got off the phone with Jeff. The ramp is done.
I spent time with the couple last night in the hospital and they were so blessed and touched that so many could care so much with tangible acts of love. It is a simple story of need, someone who saw the need and cared enough to ask for help and the response of God lived out in the hands, talent and willingness of those who made this weekend an unplanned act of holiness. Thanks be to God!!!!!

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful! We had something similar happen when my husband nearly died when I was 6 mo pregnant with my 6th child. I am still brought to tears at all the people who stepped up and chose to be Christs hands and feet for us. I feel like real Christians don't worry about where they go when they die, they make this a place where God would want to come, right now. "On Earth as it is in Heaven..."

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