Perspective Through Service

Have you ever driven past that house where the lawn was overgrown, the bushes hadn’t been trimmed and the windows were dirty?  I have passed several of those homes on my way to and from work, and I often find myself judging how the homeowners can live like that.  My perspective of those homes changed on October 28th when my Leadership Through Service class cleaned, raked and trimmed bushes at twenty-four houses in Elk Grove.

In our time serving, we learned about the people in those houses.  Some were elderly, others were stroke victims, cancer patients or wheelchair bound. My students and I quickly learned that the faces behind the walls of these homes were just like you and I. They were looking for love, connection, significance and certainty.  Unfortunately, the certainty of keeping up with their homes was lost for one reason or another.

Over the course of eight hours, twenty-eight students took care of these homes, and helped those who were in need.  The students who served, did so with a smile because they knew that they were helping those who could’t necessarily help themselves.  In addition to serving, we all received a reality into the lives of those who live right around the block.  We gained perspective from people we had previously judged.

I am grateful to have been able to work along teenagers who took the time to serve.  Working side by side helps us all to gain perspective of the world around us. Each and every house that we visited was so grateful that we were there, but the students and myself realized that we were the real winners for getting to help those in need.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. If you have other questions or comments feel free to reach out.

@josephdbush
Leading Through Service

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