Charity

"Nothing you do makes much of a difference if you do not have charity. You can speak with tongues, have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and possess all knowledge; even if you have the faith to move mountains, without charity it won't profit you at all....Joseph B. Wirthlin

Tuesday night I went downtown to a celebration for the volunteers of the Ronald McDonald House. I met a ton of giving, selfless, loving people, ate wonderful food and heard an inspiring story. A speaker read a few pages from a book called, The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth.

The three questions are:

1.  When is the best time to do things?
2.  Who is the most important one?
3.  What is the right thing to do?

Such profound questions. The book states that the best time to do things is: Right Now, the most important one is: Who You Are With and the right thing to do is: Do Good for the One Who is Standing by Your Side.

I had a daughter that was born with health issues and was in the NICU which resulted in my husband and I going home from the hospital without her. It was devastating. I cannot imagine having my child stay in the hospital long term and living away from home like in the Ronald McDonald House just to be able to see my child. When I decided to start volunteering at RMHC I wanted to network, meet new people and get out of the house. I was having a hard time finding a job after finishing graduate school and was feeling down. Going to the house made me humble-to put it mildly.

I am currently busy balancing work, family, volunteering at multiple places and life in general. However, each week when I walk into the house to serve families and do a small part in making the house run, I know that the right time to give is now-despite how busy I am. I asked many friends to volunteer with me (it's only 6 hours a month) and no one would-everyone is too busy. Finally, one of my friends took me up on the offer and I am excited to hang out with her twice a month. We get to do it together, so it will be a great time to catch up, chat and giggle.

I have learned that there will never be a perfect time to do anything-sometimes you just have to jump in without testing the water. It is proven that people that volunteer live longer, happier lives. Meeting people who have volunteered for 10+ years at the house was so inspiring. I plan on staying a volunteer there for a very long time. 

I walked away from that celebration with new incites. I am going to try to remember the three questions and live by them. I will focus on and give all my attention to the person I happen to be with (a colleague, friend, family member, person at RMHC) and always do right by the ones who walk beside me in life. It is so hard to not let life take over. So often I am doing the dishes, the TV is on, I'm going over to-do lists in my head, all while trying to focus on what one of my kids is saying. Sometimes it is better just to take a breath, slow down and really listen. Live. In. The. Moment.

I hope at some point in your lives you will all have the experience of volunteering. I have done volunteer/charity work within my church and for some reason when you go outside the box and volunteer in the community, it is much different.

After our kids are grown, my husband and I plan on volunteering abroad or for disaster relief. I am so excited for what that chapter in life will bring! ~S