Well Done, Good and Faithful Church
I knew Wednesday would be a busy day, and I knew I would be tired by the end of the day. But I knew it would be a “good tired” as I like to call it when it has been wonderful. I had several things that I had to do that day, and then we had to be at Pine Valley United Methodist Church at 3:45pm for the Thanksgiving drive-through supper [November 18th]. When I arrived at the church, people had already lined up early! My job is to give my blog out to each car. I love getting to see everyone, some I know, some I have seen, and many I meet for the first time. The one thing I can do is smile (with my eyes since I have my mask on) and give everyone a kind word! Everyone can use that, especially these days!
We had four lanes of traffic behind the fellowship hall to receive Thanksgiving plates of turkey, potatoes, green beans, dressing, gravy, rolls, and pie. At times there were 16 cars waiting for plates! And the stream was steady! Even a fire truck came through! I saw someone I had not seen in over 20 years who had been told to come! I saw many people who are not getting out yet. It was just such a wonderful evening of fellowship - even though it was a drive-through.
I left there feeling so excited to have been a part of something so great! As I went to my “I Love My Church” small group, there was so much excitement. One of our ladies walked in who had been at church since nine that morning cooking and preparing for the Thanksgiving feast! Others were there the day before shopping, baking turkeys and pies! My friend was physically worn out. She was tired, having been on her feet all day, like all of our “Cookin’ For Jesus” team. When we all thanked her for her service she smiled saying, “I am tired, but it was fun!”
Our Bible Study for that night was “Love By Giving.” We all kept going back to the drive-through dinner. Acts 4:32-35, “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as they had need.” We all felt that this Scripture had been played out Wednesday night at PVUMC! We discussed how “our money and possessions only hold value when they are used to build upon our riches in heaven.” I am so proud of how PVUMC uses our money, which is already God’s, to build up riches in heaven.
When I went to bed that night, I thanked God for such a spirit filled day, from a meeting with one of our seniors to the drive through to my Bible study. I thought back to our other scripture we studied earlier, 1 Timothy 6:6-7. “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the word, so we cannot take anything out of it either.” I was filled with contentment.
It took a big team to put on a drive-through supper that gave out about 575 meals! We had people greeting, keeping the traffic flowing, running plates, cleaning up, doing dishes, making plates, etc. But I really thought about how tired our “Cookin’ For Jesus” team must be as they laid down. Maybe too tired to sleep, but I know it was a “good tired” because I am sure they, too, were content. The other verse we studied that night was Hebrews 13:16. “And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” They sacrificed their time to serve Thanksgiving dinner to our church and community. I know God was pleased, and I can hear Him telling them, “Well done, good and faithful church!”