One volunteer opportunity that I love is lectoring at church. I am on the schedule next Sunday and I always like to practice the reading a few times before Mass so that I am familiar with it. It is from James 2:14-18.  Here is that passage:

This passage brought to mind something that happened two weeks ago when we met my sister and her family on a chilly day at the lake. My two exchange students were not prepared for the cool, breezy conditions and were both shivering. My new suitor gallantly offered both his jacket and his sweatshirt so that both girls would be warm, even though that left him with just his t-shirt and shorts. He is a great dad to two girls and a boy, so it seems it is second nature for him to take care of others. This was such a difference and a welcome change from my ex. It truly touched my heart that he was willing to hang out with my kids and extended family after knowing me such a short time and that he was as considerate of my girls as he is of his own kids.

He does believe in God, but does not attend church services.  I think this is much better than one who attends or even leads church services but does not act as Jesus asks us to. To me simply being a “church going” person does not make one a “good” person. To stand up in church and tell people how to live their lives and how Jesus wants us to be while spending the other six days of the week being selfish, greedy and breaking the commandments God gave us is hypocritical at best, evil at worst. I would rather be with people who “walk the walk” and act in a godlike, giving way than with those who “talk the talk” and have all the right words to say but whose actions do not coincide with those words. The serpent in the Garden of Eden did as much.

Even with the limited time I have known my new suitor, I have seen so many good qualities and such generosity that I predict more good times to come. Our first date was less than a month ago and even in that short time he has shown such consideration and kindness. Last Saturday he drove me, my lovely girls and his own beautiful daughters all the way to Devil’s Tower, WY and Monday he took us, including my son, through Bear Country in his truck. On the way back from Bear Country, he even suggested a stop at the huge candy store that is nearby, knowing that all the kiddos (this big one included) would love it.

A while back while re-reading my journals, I came across something I had written years ago. I noted that my first husband, the father of my kiddos, is one who thinks of others and then himself while my (at the time) current husband thinks of himself first and then others. I believe that my new suitor is cut from the same cloth as my kids’ dad and is one to do for others first. That speaks volumes of his character and I consider myself very fortunate to have found him. Who knows what the future will bring, but I hope it brings many more adventures for us.