Seeing God Through People…

The morning started by going to a Food Bank and sorting and organizing cans on the shelves, as organizing and cleaning is a strength that I have and I acknowledge. In the afternoon, I went to my parish and helped the Sisters who are involved with the Religious Education Classes (First and Second Year of Communion).  It was hard work, but in the end, I felt rewarded and great inside.

For example, for the project that the Sisters are working on in preparing for the Religious Education Classes, their need was to  organize and sort the register forms by Mass time, grades, and years and to also write down the names of the students.  This task of gathering and organizing would help them find the student's name, if a question came up.  What I appreciate the most is after I finished, The Sisters would give me a hug and say, "God Bless You Always."  This is a reminder that God is speaking to me. I may not see Him, but I'm sure He's out there, planning something else for me to work on.

Later in the evening, I attended a fundraiser called Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program or called I-HELP (In partnership with 30 Monterey Peninsula faith communities, I-HELP provides overnight shelter and hot meals to men each night), which was my first time going.  My church friend invited me and when I arrived, I saw parishioners that attend the same parish and it was amazing to see the look on their faces, it was like they were happy to see me. I also saw my pastor and deacon and other priests that were new that I met, and a few priests that I remembered from long ago. It was a great a gathering event, and people were happy.

This is tying back to my first article of finding jobs.  Another Church friend shared the following with me:

"Don't give up on paying jobs.  It would be a good thing for you to get out and be with people."

"Have you ever heard the story of the man that was stuck in a life boat in the middle of the ocean and he prayed to God to help him. One day a ship passed by to pick him up and the man said "No, I am waiting for God to help me," a few days later a helicopter came by and the man said "No, I am waiting for God to help me". Well, the man eventually died because he had no food or water and when he got to heaven he asked God "I prayed for you to help me all those days and you never did" and God said " What do you mean I never helped you? I sent you a boat and a helicopter, and you said no to both, what more could I have done".

So I guess the moral of the story is keep your eyes, ears, and heart open, because God may be sending people in your life and you may not even realize it.

Focusing on today, I would say was a blessed and accomplished day! I feel that doing volunteer work has opened my eyes, ears, and heart because now I am meeting more people and networking with them, and the people at my parish.  These connections will help me see the good in other people, instead of being selfish and self-centered, and focusing more on self-interests. Maybe my niche is writing articles and sharing my faith with others.