QUESTION: When my husband of 40 years passed away, I decided to volunteer. Our children are adults and are independent so they didn’t need my help even though I asked. I wanted something to keep me busy and, at the same time, make a contribution somewhere. That’s when I decided to volunteer, and I wish I had done it even before my husband died.

In addition to being rewarding, I feel like I’m making a difference where it counts as a hospital volunteer. I’m having such a wonderful time meeting and greeting people that I thought it might be a good idea to ask others to consider volunteering as well. Perhaps some encouraging words about volunteering would be helpful for those who haven’t quite decided what to do with their spare time.

– Happy Volunteer

Dear Happy Volunteer,

We honor you for the work you are doing (yes, it’s “work”). You are providing a needed and valuable contribution to your neighbors and the hospital where you serve. Without you and the others who serve with you, the hospital would have to hire additional people or the staff would have to take on extra duties. It may seem like a little thing to refill coffee pots and water pitchers, work in the gift shop, push a wheelchair, etc., but it produces big results and rewards.

Volunteering isn’t just for those who are 50-plus, have spare time, or are retired. Younger people, (teens-40s), also benefit from volunteering. It helps increase physical activity, test out a career path to pursue, increase the chances of getting a better job or promotion, etc. Employers recognize that employees or job candidates who volunteer are more desirable as they have initiative, better mental and physical health, and a higher level of self-esteem and confidence.

You are one of many people who have also discovered the numerous physical, emotional and social health benefits of volunteering. Medical research studies show that these benefits are gained by less than 200 hours per year (three to four hours per week).

Here are some of the most widely cited things gained by volunteering:

1. 20% lower death rate and longer life

2. Lower stress levels

3. Lower blood pressure

4. Less depression

5. Improvement of brain function (really important as we age)

6. 25% better management of chronic illness

7. More physical activity

8. Higher functional abilities

9. Long term friendships that develop from those we volunteer with

10. A greater sense of belonging and feeling loved

11. A heightened sense of purpose, happiness and value

As a friend, who has volunteered in one of the local hospitals for the last 28 years, said, “If I’m feeling unappreciated or deficient in my ‘hug quota’ for the day, all I have to do is show up at the hospital to know how greatly I’m valued and how much I’ve made a contribution.”

Just like my friend, I’m sure you are greatly loved and valued for what you’ve been doing also.

Pastor Dabney Beck

dabneybeck.ss@gmail.com

Dear Happy Volunteer,

What an incredible thing to do – find fulfillment in volunteering. Every one of us have been created with a need to be needed. The Scriptures tell us “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

As adults, we often find our fulfillment in our children but, when they grow up and become independent and start families of their own, their need for us as parents lessens. Every one of us, whether we have families or not, can find a place to reach out and make a difference in the lives of others.

Albert Schweitzer once said, “Wherever you turn, you can find someone who needs you. Even if it is a little thing, do something for which there is no pay but the privilege of doing it. Remember, you don’t live in the world all of your own.”

Far too often we allow the demands of life to consume us to the point where we have little or no time to give to others. Unfortunately, that can lead to selfishness and inconsideration when it comes to reaching out to others in need. One of the wisest men who ever lived taught, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped” (Proverbs 11:24-24 MSG). Over the years I’ve discovered that rarely do any of us have the time to volunteer. But those who make the time have the unselfish heart of a servant and receive the self-satisfaction of knowing that they have looked beyond their own needs and wants to help another person. That is reward in itself.

Every hospital, church and service organization within the community has many opportunities for people to be involved in helping others. We just need to ask. There are needy people all around us and, as Oscar Wilde once quipped: “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”

I continually encourage people who attend our services: “Let’s be the people of God who see others through the eyes of God, love them with the heart of God and reach out and touch them as the hands of God.” What will you begin doing this week to make a difference in the life of others?

Pastor Randy Foster

randy.clc@att.net

QUESTION: I’m writing about receiving gifts I don’t want. Recently, I was given a watch. I already have three nice watches. My mom always told me to accept gifts gratefully and not let on to the person who gave the gift that you don’t like it. I have no intention of telling the person I don’t like the watch. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.

Is it okay to return it and exchange it for something else? I don’t see the person that often so I doubt she’d notice that I’m not wearing it. Please say something about checking with people about what they would like and can use. I always do.

– Reluctant Receiver

Dear Reluctant Receiver,

First all, I’m glad you’ve listened to your mom about receiving gifts graciously. As far as returning gifts you don’t want, I don’t see any reason not to return the gift for something you do want as long as you’re sure that the gift giver won’t find out. I’ve had friends that do and no one is the wiser.

It would be wise if everyone asked what a person wanted for a gift, especially something pricey. I always ask my family for a list of gifts they want for Christmas and birthdays.

Carolyn Young

cjymesalila@gmail.com

Dear Reluctant Receiver,

What a blessing to have those around you who care for you so much that they wish to show that affection through the giving of a gift. The blessing is so much greater than the gift itself; the watch is just a sign of this person’s wanting to show their feelings of gratitude that you are part of their life. The true gift is the relationship that has been nurtured and watered so that it may grow more and more each day. A gift is a message of the heart that speaks beyond the very object itself. Looking back in my life, I have come to realize that the many art projects that I gave to my parents were not of such high caliber that the Louvre Museum was looking at adding it to its collection, but what those gifts signified was of such great worth that it created a connection that deepened with each sharing. When I think of Jesus’ many acts of “gifting” through healing, feeding, washing and resurrecting, it turned out that the gift was just a part of the greater call into relationship with the one who gave it.

I invite you to hold on to the watch and let it remind you of the relationship you have with the giver. And if at some point in the future there is someone whom you feel affection toward maybe “pay it forward” and share the watch as a gift to them.
Blessed to be a blessing,

Pastor Scott Peterson

pastor@lcifoothills.org