Quarters

Yesterday, the church group I am a part of, In Process decided to bless others less fortunate. Jesus commands us to love and help those hungry, thirsty, sick or naked. Our solution was to pay for people's laundry. You figure that it costs $1.25 for a load of laundry. On top of that it would cost another dollar to dry the clothes. And then there is the cost of soap, bleach and fabric softener sheets. The cost of a weekly laundry run for a family could be close to $20.

For the past couple months we have been collecting our loose change and using that as our weekly offering. One Sunday we took an offering of soap, bleach and fabric softener sheets along with coloring books, crayons, and games.

Yesterday eight of us went to a Laundromat in Fullerton. Now we are not looking for praise for the day of service. All we did was feed quarters into a washer or a dryer. We didn't fold their clothes or replace worn out clothes with nice new clothes. All in all, we were just there.

And isn't that good enough?

There was J. J is homeless. He made some bad decisions with his life. You could tell this guy is smart. He told of the businesses he owned and the money he made but then he told me of the bad decisions he made, including his drug addictions. J was looking to start his life over again, I am praying that he can.

Then there was H. H came driving up in his rusty van that creaked as it rolled in, creaked as he stopped and creaked when he opened and shut the door. I think H lived in his rusty van. He appreciated the offer of washing his laundry for free. To show his appreciation he played numerous classic rock songs on his guitar. He was very good and it was very cool. But mostly, it was great getting to hear his story.

Yesterday was a day to just hang out. A day to color. A day to pay for laundry. A day to talk, but mostly just a day to listen.

And isn't that good enough?