Last week, I met with a few pastor friends of mine and asked, “What we can do for our dedicated service men and women in the area?” They are under so much pressure right now with shootings occurring in multiple states where both police officials and civilians have been killed. When will the violence end?
I cannot honestly answer the second question but I did have an answer for the first question: showing appreciation for our local service personnel in Harrisonburg, VA. Yesterday, July 20, 2016, a team of 17 Kingdom Builders gathered to help prepare and serve BBQ sandwiches, coleslaw, sweetened and unsweetened tea, water, and cookies. Strites Donuts also partnered with us by donating and serving several cases of their treats.
Every time a service person arrived to eat lunch and meet with friends on the force, I put a medal around his/her neck. Yesterday, that was 88 times. In addition to that medal, we gave each visitor a bag of encouraging literature to help them along with their walk with Jesus, giving them the spiritual food that will outlast what physical food we provided. I enjoyed seeing the group of people who partnered with us at the event, in addition to how many service men and women we served.
Now, I ask you another question. What is more important: making your voice heard about a certain opinion or saying thank you by giving out love? I chose and would always choose the latter option because that is what Jesus instructed. He was even bold and brave enough to go where we as sinners (which includes me and you) resided.
So, as we move forward together towards unity in our nation, may we not focus at what people are screaming about, but honestly about what God is whispering. He is trying to get our attention. He got my attention, as I asked my friends, “What can we do for our emergency and first responders?”
This gesture is a step in God’s way of reaching out and extending love in our current society. Enjoy the pictures shown below and may God open up doors and opportunities in your life to say thank you and give to people in their times of need.
Photos courtesy of Joseph Nunez
