Alright, I admit it! I like to think of myself as a problem solver. I like to piece together the parts of a puzzle till the picture starts to emerge. Then I like to utter words of wisdom that makes every one around me marvel at the sheer genius of the solution! ....(ok, so maybe it doesn't always happen that way, but that's what I like to think and this is my blog!)
Today I was busy making up a form for keeping track of our gift-in-kind donations to other missions and ministries. It was some what challenging only because of many interruptions and countless phone calls.
Some where between hello and may I help you?.......I was caught up in a problem that was not of my making, but none the less urgent. A single mom with two small children, (one with Downs syndrome) needed food and the food bank had given her our number.
The problem came, in that her call had been taken and handed off, the people that were notified turned the request over to a committee who were not scheduled to meet for at least a week and no one had bothered to contact this young woman with hungry children. Much of the story had been taken by others so the pieces of the puzzle I held didn't make much sense by themselves.
Upon further investigation and unraveling I was able to at least contact all the players, leave voice and email messages to agencies and social workers, and hopefully connect her with help.
I was exhausted! How do people do this for a living? Not only that, I felt some what guilty for not taking her to the store myself and buying her baby food for her kids! Ah guilt, the gift that keeps on giving!
Just the fact that I didn't go into social work may mean that I was smarted than I thought back in college! So why am I still worried about someone I don't even know?
4 comments:
Perhaps because you invested so much time into her plight. The world is lucky to have people like you.
Perhaps it is compassion...
Stephen here, another FFMBer. Just curious if you had thought of going into social work at one point, when you were in college. (You may go into this elsewhere in your blog, and I look.) It's what I do for a living.
Wow, Stephen, you have my greatest admiration. I am a registered nurse so went through several basic entry level courses with sociology majors. I'm too gulible and always try to think the best of people. As you well know not everyone who asks for help really wants it. I'll keep you in my prayers.....it's a hard job. Kathy
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