Serving Others

So I spent this afternoon helping paint accent walls in classrooms at an elementary school in Durham. We were encouraged to work with someone that we did not know and I was paired with a great guy who just completed law school at Duke (and no he isn't single, so sorry mom). Needless to say we had some great conversations. Lawyer, Insurance Adjuster, UNC, Duke.

Some classrooms were assigned to get a green wall while others got a yellow wall. We picked yellow as our color for the afternoon and it was a bright and cheery yellow and made me smile. So we spent our time moving from classroom to classroom putting on the first coat of paint.

When the project was started this morning, the only color on any of the classroom walls was white. So you can imagine how nice white walls look in a older and very well used elementary school classroom.

The last room we worked in this afternoon was located in the basement of the school. The wall that we were to paint was really long, dirty and had something purple splattered over it in parts. I a still not real sure what the purple stuff was, but it is all covered up now. As we were cleaning up to leave the room, I took a step back and looked at our handy work. And I was amazed at how different the room looked with just a basic first coat of yellow paint on a wall. This particular classroom is being used this summer and it made me think about how the kids were going to react come Monday when they come back and see that their room has been painted. The thought brought a smile to my face.

I got hooked up for this painting project through church. Every summer The Summit Church selects a week and sets up service projects all across the area. The projects are divided up into shifts and various locations. Some of the other projects included re-roofing the Durham Rescue Mission, helping start a community garden, cleaning up a community center, hosting a blood drive, hosting a medical clinic, etc. The entire church was encouraged to find a project that they could devote themselves to for at least one shift.

I choose painting at the local elementary school since I figured that I have plenty of practice painting.

I served side by side with people from all walks of life today. We had students, nurses, IT guys, salespeople, a few staff from the school, and me the insurance girl.

And now as I sit outside on this beautiful evening in the middle of July and pick the paint out from under my finger nails, I think about the smiles or maybe even laughter that will fill those classrooms. And I can hope that maybe my ability and desire to think about someone else rather then myself for an afternoon made a difference.

Now, that is a great way to learn how to live, laugh and love again.