THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU FIND...OR THAT FIND YOU!

I helped out at the OSHaRE soup kitchen on Wednesday evening because they were short-handed for volunteers.  I did my usual duty there - dishwashing.  It's a chore I take a bit of pleasure in...I enjoy the rhythm and flow of washing dishes - there's something soothing in it.

As I was finishing up the last couple of loads for the dishwasher, I found two plastic glasses amongst the 80-some-odd coffee mugs that are used by the adult guests at OSHaRE.  The glasses had a name printed and some images drawn on them in permanent marker, obviously the work of children.  It stopped me dead in my tracks for a moment or two; I didn't know whether to put them through the washer or throw them out.  In the end, I washed them for reuse and I'm glad I did.  You see, there's a story in those two glasses.

More and more often, there are families showing up to eat supper at OSHaRE.  One family in particular is made up of three generations.  The children are in the age range from highchair to JK to Grade 1 or 2, by my estimate.  Having children at OSHaRE has changed things somewhat: juice boxes, smaller portions, a bowl instead of a plate, spoon instead of fork, and special requests for peanut butter and jam sandwiches.  It's a shock at first to know that the face of poverty and food insecurity includes kids, but that's reality.

Over time, OSHaRE has become part of those children's routine, where they sit at the same table each night; they know they will find their familiar drinking glasses waiting them and that they will eat supper with their family, surrounded by dozens of others, engulfed in the noisy (at times deafening) chatter of greeting and acquaintance.

The two personalized glasses that I washed are a signal of connection and community by two children, and like it or not, that community is a soup kitchen.  It might not be the community that they (or you or I) would choose, but it's the community that they have and they are making the best of it.  It's a good thing that human beings are resilient - children most of all.

Community is as important to us as food and water - body and soul must both be fed.  I hope those children, that family and all the OSHaRE guests continue to find connections that sustain them.

Pat

Take This Thought Away With You

People crave comfort, people crave connection, people crave community.

~ Marianne Williamson ~