Conduct an informal survey and most people would say they work full time. They may not be employed or receiving compensation, but most of us are giving our full time to something. Many of us are working in careers, giving full time to businesses around our city, investing in customers, loving on co-workers, tackling projects and battling deadlines.

Helen Brock works full time and still has time to serve almost every single week. She comes to the GKC office every Thursday after work and hosts the Community Market to keep the office open until 6pm. Her evening serve allows other working ladies to have opportunity to participate in the market after their work shifts.

Sometimes we do not consider that our ability to serve empowers others to serve. Many times our little obedience makes a way for others to obey. See, Helen knows that her investment in keeping the office open a couple of extra hours, allows more volunteers to come by, gather food, and serve more families in their communities.

Even more, Helen has the privilege to build friendships with the volunteers that come by. She invests, listening to their stories, encouraging them in their own journeys and accepting the challenge to share the vulnerability of her own story. Maybe the night she sorted potatoes was super disgusting, but she sorted those potatoes anyway. When she got home her fingernails were nasty and her clothing smelled, but she built friendship with another volunteer while caring for the families, she may never meet, who enjoyed those potatoes.

One night she spent in the Give and Take Room sorting new donations and helping the donations find their way into the appropriate bins so the next person who needs a girls size 6, a boys size 10 or a woman’s XL could find what they needed. As she worked, she became friends with yet another community member as they shared personal stories of waiting on God and His faithfulness.

If any of us asked Helen, she might say, “oh, I don’t do much, just a few hours a week,” but her few hours mean much to Grace Klein Community and much more to Jesus. Every time she listens to another person share their story, she knows how to pray during the week. Each time she is asked for a specific need, she knows what to look for the next week. When the produce leaves that office, she knows it is headed out on a mission of love and she is a part of that love.

As a community, we want to make a big and lasting impact in Birmingham, AL. We want to show so much love that on every street, in our big city, we are known for our love. We are known for listening, for praying for those who hurt, for making someone’s load a little lighter. When our love is known in neighborhoods, businesses, schools, churches and ball fields, Jesus will be known. Why? Because apart from Christ, we do not understand love, and honestly we are not capable of it. Crazy love is without a motive, expectations or thinking about ourselves. To be known for His love, all of us are needed. No one person can love this city well, but together we can make a lasting impact as we are the body of Christ and love from His power and His grace. We work together, giving what we can give and trusting the next person will contribute their portion of love too. Someone goes and picks up the food, others sort, people like Helen keep the office open late so others come, and even more give it away. One person cannot do all that and thankfully God has shown us that He never made us to be all things to all people.

We can learn to love like Helen, loving in the ways He calls us to love, and He will work all that love together, from all of us, into something so beautiful that the world will know GOD Is Love.

Thank you Helen Brock for making us better. We appreciate you showing us more of what love looks like!

Conduct an informal survey and most people would say they work full time. They may not be employed or receiving compensation, but most of us are giving our full time to something. Many of us are working in careers, giving full time to businesses around our city, investing in customers, loving on co-workers, tackling projects and battling deadlines.

Helen Brock works full time and still has time to serve almost every single week. She comes to the GKC office every Thursday after work and hosts the Community Market to keep the office open until 6pm. Her evening serve allows other working ladies to have opportunity to participate in the market after their work shifts.

Sometimes we do not consider that our ability to serve empowers others to serve. Many times our little obedience makes a way for others to obey. See, Helen knows that her investment in keeping the office open a couple of extra hours, allows more volunteers to come by, gather food, and serve more families in their communities.

Even more, Helen has the privilege to build friendships with the volunteers that come by. She invests, listening to their stories, encouraging them in their own journeys and accepting the challenge to share the vulnerability of her own story. Maybe the night she sorted potatoes was super disgusting, but she sorted those potatoes anyway. When she got home her fingernails were nasty and her clothing smelled, but she built friendship with another volunteer while caring for the families, she may never meet, who enjoyed those potatoes.

One night she spent in the Give and Take Room sorting new donations and helping the donations find their way into the appropriate bins so the next person who needs a girls size 6, a boys size 10 or a woman’s XL could find what they needed. As she worked, she became friends with yet another community member as they shared personal stories of waiting on God and His faithfulness.

If any of us asked Helen, she might say, “oh, I don’t do much, just a few hours a week,” but her few hours mean much to Grace Klein Community and much more to Jesus. Every time she listens to another person share their story, she knows how to pray during the week. Each time she is asked for a specific need, she knows what to look for the next week. When the produce leaves that office, she knows it is headed out on a mission of love and she is a part of that love.

As a community, we want to make a big and lasting impact in Birmingham, AL. We want to show so much love that on every street, in our big city, we are known for our love. We are known for listening, for praying for those who hurt, for making someone’s load a little lighter. When our love is known in neighborhoods, businesses, schools, churches and ball fields, Jesus will be known. Why? Because apart from Christ, we do not understand love, and honestly we are not capable of it. Crazy love is without a motive, expectations or thinking about ourselves. To be known for His love, all of us are needed. No one person can love this city well, but together we can make a lasting impact as we are the body of Christ and love from His power and His grace. We work together, giving what we can give and trusting the next person will contribute their portion of love too. Someone goes and picks up the food, others sort, people like Helen keep the office open late so others come, and even more give it away. One person cannot do all that and thankfully God has shown us that He never made us to be all things to all people.

We can learn to love like Helen, loving in the ways He calls us to love, and He will work all that love together, from all of us, into something so beautiful that the world will know GOD Is Love.

Thank you Helen Brock for making us better. We appreciate you showing us more of what love looks like!