Homemade peach jam sits on the table in front of me, jars of love, made from rescued peaches. She said to share a jar so I’m thinking of who to pass on this fragile glass jar of goodness. It’s a beautiful color and smooth looking. Daydreaming of homemade biscuits or some jelly on wheat berry toast. She smiles really big and says, “I love making jelly, it’s fun.”
She served for a few hours sorting clothing for our upcoming “No More Safety Pins” event and headed to the Grace Klein Community office to gather bread and desserts for tomorrow’s meal. She’s the Wednesday night church dinner host, the meal planner and implementer, where church friends come together to share a meal, in the middle of a crazy week, and then study God’s word together. She said she previously made all the pies, but now she uses the ones that are shared from Grace Klein Community. Good to know our plenty makes her work a little lighter.
Today she shared a little of her story, a widow of 27 years, her husband dying from an unexpected aneurysm, after taking her deep sea fishing. She has four grown children, scattered around the United States, and as she describes and shares about each one, you can feel the love she has for them, the deep mama love that maybe a few words cannot say, but her eyes sure convey.
How can she be in her 80’s and signing up to volunteer for 12 hour shifts? Her question was “will you have me?” Birdie is pouring out all she’s got for Jesus. She does not serve to be noticed, for accolades, or a plaque for her living room wall. She loves Jesus and the overflow of that love breaks forth in a song of serving.
Ms. Birdie is spunky and feisty. What you see is what you get. She says what she thinks and calls everyone “honey.” Please don’t misunderstand Ms. Birdie because she’s genuine, trustworthy and loyal. She’s a mama heart, wanting the best for everyone, and like a mama, she can outwork all of us.
Consider the definition of the word resourcefulness, “the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties” and you have found one of the attributes of Ms. Birdie. When we have an abundance of rescued bananas, peaches, blackberries, plums, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, etc. many volunteers want to turn around and run, having really no idea what to do or how to preserve in such large quantities. She has that ability to think fast and suggest “quick and clever ways” to rescue the food before it is tossed in the dumpster. She does not see a pile of overwhelming work, rather she sees plum jelly and homemade relish. She sees jars covering her kitchen counter that will make their way into homes all over their city and she is sneaky, she’s stirred up love in every single one.
“You are crazy, and so am I,” is what she told a kid, looking for a lost book, as he almost climbed into a trash can. She laughed and showed him the easy way to check the trash. Then, she bypassed the elevator and took the steps back down to the kitchen to get back to work. Many wonder how she is so active at “her age” when all we need to do is observe a little and we can learn a lot. Little life lessons is what she passes along, in short little exchanges, where she leaves her mark, but will never get the credit. Isn’t that the point of our existence, to share our lives willingly, never for any selfish gain, but to benefit the whole, for the Kingdom of God.
As a part of our new food rescue outreach, through the weekly GKC Trade Market, Birdie helps preserve food and teaches others how to preserve too. We hope to offer a class in the near future where 6-8 people can sign-up to learn more about food preservation from Ms. Birdie. As she serves with No More Safety Pins, she’s helping inspect donated clothing for quality, sort clothing by sizes and hang clothing on hangers. She’s a jewel, a hidden treasure. No one sees her getting the work done. She would probably say, “shhh, this is our little secret.”
Grace Klein Community exists and thrives based on the commitment and investment of its members. We are better because of Ms. Birdie and the many volunteers who live their lives demonstrating this scripture… “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58
Homemade peach jam sits on the table in front of me, jars of love, made from rescued peaches. She said to share a jar so I’m thinking of who to pass on this fragile glass jar of goodness. It’s a beautiful color and smooth looking. Daydreaming of homemade biscuits or some jelly on wheat berry toast. She smiles really big and says, “I love making jelly, it’s fun.”
She served for a few hours sorting clothing for our upcoming “No More Safety Pins” event and headed to the Grace Klein Community office to gather bread and desserts for tomorrow’s meal. She’s the Wednesday night church dinner host, the meal planner and implementer, where church friends come together to share a meal, in the middle of a crazy week, and then study God’s word together. She said she previously made all the pies, but now she uses the ones that are shared from Grace Klein Community. Good to know our plenty makes her work a little lighter.
Today she shared a little of her story, a widow of 27 years, her husband dying from an unexpected aneurysm, after taking her deep sea fishing. She has four grown children, scattered around the United States, and as she describes, and shares about each one, you can feel the love she has for them, the deep mama love that maybe a few words cannot say, but her eyes sure convey.
How can she be in her 80’s and signing up to volunteer for 12 hour shifts? Her question was “will you have me?” Birdie is pouring out all she’s got for Jesus. She does not serve to be noticed, for accolades, or a plaque for her living room wall. She loves Jesus and the overflow of that love breaks forth in a song of serving.
Ms. Birdie is spunky and feisty. What you see is what you get. She says what she thinks and calls everyone “honey.” Please don’t misunderstand Ms. Birdie because she’s genuine, trustworthy and loyal. She’s a mama heart, wanting the best for everyone, and like a mama, she can outwork all of us.
Consider the definition of the word resourcefulness, “the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties” and you have found one of the attributes of Ms. Birdie. When we have an abundance of rescued bananas, peaches, blackberries, plums, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, etc. many volunteers want to turn around and run, having really no idea what to do or how to preserve in such large quantities. She has that ability to think fast and suggest “quick and clever ways” to rescue the food before it is tossed in the dumpster. She does not see a pile of overwhelming work, rather she sees plum jelly and homemade relish. She sees jars covering her kitchen counter that will make their way into homes all over their city and she is sneaky, she’s stirred up love in every single one.
“You are crazy, and so am I,” is what she told a kid, looking for a lost book, as he almost climbed into a trash can. She laughed and showed him the easy way to check the trash. Then, she bypassed the elevator and took the steps back down to the kitchen to get back to work. Many wonder how she is so active at “her age” when all we need to do is observe a little and we can learn a lot. Little life lessons is what she passes along, in short little exchanges, where she leaves her mark, but will never get the credit. Isn’t that the point of our existence, to share our lives willingly, never for any selfish gain, but to benefit the whole, for the Kingdom of God.
As a part of our new food rescue outreach, through the weekly GKC Trade Market, Birdie helps preserve food and teaches others how to preserve too. We hope to offer a class in the near future where 6-8 people can sign-up to learn more about food preservation from Ms. Birdie. As she serves with No More Safety Pins, she’s helping inspect donated clothing for quality, sort clothing by sizes and hang clothing on hangers. She’s a jewel, a hidden treasure. No one sees her getting the work done. She would probably say, “shhh, this is our little secret.”
Grace Klein Community exists and thrives based on the commitment and investment of its members. We are better because of Ms. Birdie and the many volunteers who live their lives demonstrating this scripture… “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58
She served for a few hours sorting clothing for our upcoming “No More Safety Pins” event and headed to the Grace Klein Community office to gather bread and desserts for tomorrow’s meal. She’s the Wednesday night church dinner host, the meal planner and implementer, where church friends come together to share a meal, in the middle of a crazy week, and then study God’s word together. She said she previously made all the pies, but now she uses the ones that are shared from Grace Klein Community. Good to know our plenty makes her work a little lighter.
Ms. Birdie is spunky and feisty. What you see is what you get. She says what she thinks and calls everyone “honey.” Please don’t misunderstand Ms. Birdie because she’s genuine, trustworthy and loyal. She’s a mama heart, wanting the best for everyone, and like a mama, she can outwork all of us.
As a part of our new food rescue outreach, through the weekly GKC Trade Market, Birdie helps preserve food and teaches others how to preserve too. We hope to offer a class in the near future where 6-8 people can sign-up to learn more about food preservation from Ms. Birdie. As she serves with No More Safety Pins, she’s helping inspect donated clothing for quality, sort clothing by sizes and hang clothing on hangers. She’s a jewel, a hidden treasure. No one sees her getting the work done. She would probably say, “shhh, this is our little secret.”