Today, in Sacrament meeting, the speakers spoke about Christlike friendships. One speaker talked about how Christ showed friendship by doing things like helping people who needed it and laying down His life for us. He likened it to a story of his father who would stop in a visit a man who was bedbound almost daily until his own death. He talked about the unselfishness of friendship and the necessity of forgiveness.
As I listened to him speak, I thought of the ladies I work with at the shelter. These women literally have next to nothing. All of their belonging have to fit on or under their bed. Some of these women are the sweetest people I have ever met, and they are the outcast of the ladies in the shelter. They sit alone and are often ridiculed for being different, but they are the ones who will sit with others who are left out and try to include them.
Over the last three weeks, I have been the recipient of their kindness. Twice, I have been waiting outside the gate in my car, waiting for security to let me in. Then, one of the participants saw me as they were waiting to be let in. When security came to the door, they would ask for permission to push the button to let me in. Then, there was a lady that I had talked to a few times that saw me coming in and cleared a table for me saying she knew I had not where else to go in the shelter. One more lady that made me think even more about this was a sweet lady who is openly ridiculed for exercising in the facility. (I feel the need to point out that she does this off in an area out of the way but visible of other people.) It appears to me that she may not have any friends in this shelter. She has been alone every time I have seen her including mealtimes. Thursday and Friday this week, she noticed that I was sitting by myself at the table near the lunchroom, and she came and sat with me. She was quiet, working on a puzzle one day and drawing/painting the next. I told her goodnight as I left, and she smiled and returned the gesture. These gestures mean the world to me. They have nothing, but they are doing the small things to make me more comfortable when I am there to help them (none of these ladies have wanting my help looking for more permanent housing). I guess this is what people mean when they say they get so much more out of serving other people than the other people get sometimes.
