Together for Lincoln

There are times when I get irritated living in such a small community. The resistance to change and economic development, the lack of entertainment, the absence of a shopping mall...ahem...sometimes a girl just needs some quick window browsing therapy and having to drive 40 minutes to get it is such a drag.

But there are other times when I realize how extremely fond of living in Lincoln I've become. It's quaint, relatively safe, people are friendly and there are lots of good things about living in a small town. In fact, I think I can say sometimes I'm downright proud of Lincoln.

Today is definitely one of those days.

Our church, along with 10 others, has organized a community wide service project day where individuals from all over the community are coming together to serve people and show the love of Christ through their actions. They have close to 100 service projects lined up with more than 800 people signed up to participate in volunteering. All kinds of things are happening today from building wheelchair ramps to visiting nursing homes to cleaning hard to reach areas of homes for people who just can't reach there anymore. It has received such a positive response that I'm certain it will become an annual event.

S is a project leader for a woman who needs some painting and staining done on her home. That means my role today is to be home with the kiddos. I have to admit, honestly I was a little resentful when we left for church this morning realizing that I had to give up hubby for the day and for me this would just be another day. But then our preacher gave an inspiring message about unity and serving others. Then they played this song while flashing pictures of various sites around Lincoln up on the screen and I got all teary and warm and proud of what was happening today.

When W and I were eating lunch we heard people talking outside and he asked, "What's that mom?" I got up to look and saw a group of people I'd never seen before picking up trash on our street. Their ages ranged from what looked like about 4 years old to middle age and I instantly got excited about what an impact this project could have on our community. Not just on the people being served, but on the people serving. I got excited about teaching my children why we do what we do on this day every year. I got excited to serve alongside others from different faith backgrounds for one unified purpose: showing the love of Christ to others.

Lincoln, I'm proud of you.