I have to reflect on Thanksgiving Eve at The Scruffy Church before it goes into a blur.

Last night – family of The Scruffy Church came out to dontate and deliver Thanksgiving Meals to families to those in need.  If you’ve read my recent posts from Thanksgiving Eve, you’ll know already that God took our best laid plans and turned them on themselves.  We planned to give baskets out to 20 families.  at 2 minutes to 7, it was clear what we actually needed was not more food, but more families to give to.

Now, you may say 20 families is a small chunk in a community that is large, and hurting both emotionally and financially.  If you know our church, many of our congregation is also hurting in the same ways, struggling to make it in an economy that struggles to recover, in an area where jobs are around, but opportunities are hard to come by.

Previous Thanksgiving Eve’s, Scruffy Church has usually been the recipient of turkeys and fixings for Thanksgiving dinners from the county food bank, but are unable to do so this year, as we do not have a coiunty-recognized pantry.  That’s okay… it really is.  But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to give to the community, because that is what our heart is at The Scruffy Church – to connect people to Jesus, with simple practical acts of kindness, showing his love.  You’ll find somewhere on our website what it says… connecting people – helping the hurting – making a difference.

The journey for me began Saturday, November 12th, preparing those pieces of paper that you might normally find put on the walls of grocery stores, cutting slips for people to pull if they’re interested in what you’re selling (I can recall babysitting, for example, being on the grocery store local to me in years past… now of course a thing of the past).  In this case, these were tickets for our church family to pull to help sponsor families in need this Thanksgiving.  slips for turkeys, stuffing, gravy, desserts, all the things you’d come to expect at a meal on Thanksgiving.

The next morning, we put them up in the church, and announced the effort to have families respoond by each pulling a few of the tickets and coming to church Wednesday the 23rd with their donation to pull together the meals and then pass them out to the community.  And those I call friends, family, congregants, newcomers, all responded.  ALL responded.  Over the next 9 days, people pulled tickets, facebooked looking for information, called asking what times to arrive, what  extras were short, etc…. all in the name of doing what God commands us to do.  To share the gospel with all people, in this case through the simple act of kindness of providing a meal at an important holiday.

Tuesday night, I went to a local grocery store intent to finish purchasing a few items that didn’t get pulled off the sheets.  While cashing out, I had a conversation with two people in the store (they weren’t too busy, ironically) about what our church was doing.  I had to go back in to buy two more turkeys, and when I did, I was met by the store manager who said that I could have one of them for free, as their way of contributing (without me asking), because they heard what was being done in their community and wanted to help too.  Granted, you might say “A Grocery store manager was so struck by the act of kindness our church was doing that they gave us a single whole Turkey?  Couldnt’ they have done more?”   Before you think that and it festers inside, you need to understand that due to restrictions legally, and concerns over people who come in looking to scam, grocery stores have to be careful in their giving, so its’ important to realize that organizations that are non-profit have to apply with many stores and wait to be approved for donations.  It’s tough, but this hit me real hard Tuesday night.  Someone just said…”Hey, have this.  We want to help.”  I was floored.

Sherri and I had a few people come over from the church who couldn’t deliver baskets, but were donating things.  We sat with one such person Monday night for about 45 minutes chatting.  The conversation was simple, relaxing and fun.  People were excited to give, asking if we needed more, and gave more.  Tuesday evening I went to the church late with someone who was also looking to donate, but was going out of town.  They dropped off more Wednesday morning.  My dad even gave me food from someone who wanted to donate but was unable to see me to do so.  I picked up those donations Tuesday night (my parents do not come to our church, but were contacted by someone who had things to donate).

Oh, and before we get to Wednesday, I had one person politely texting me and calling me throughout Tuesday asking if they could deliver baskets to a few families Wednesday during the day, before they headed out of town.  I felt bad in that all I could confirm was that they could deliver to one such family.  Well, they decided last minute to not have me pull the basket together, and give to them, but that they’d pick up the basket themselves and deliver it.  I WAS FLOORED.  Get used to seeing that phrase.

Then came Wednesday.  my phone was a text-receiving machine from people who were taking things to the church, dropping things off at our house, and asking what time to be there to donate and deliver.  I left work, gassed up at the gas station and went home to get Sherri and fill up the car and head over to the church.  While home, I got texts from someone else who dropped off food at the church, couldn’t deliver baskets, but let me know a bunch of food was there to use.  While at work I had someone call me saying they could no longer get to the church because a family member needed their car to get to work.  So, we stopped by there to get food.  Then, we carried on to the church, but before we left, she said to us that if we were low on turkeys, to contact her, because she had a 15lb turkey in her freezer she’d give us.  She’d GIVE US, LAST MINUTE.  I don’t know about you, but that floored me at the time.   Then continued to say if you need more, she had other canned goods as well as other corn muffin mix available to share too.  I was just floored… floored.

Sherri and I got to church.  emptied the car, set up the tables at the church – it was like 6:20pm, and then all of a sudden people just started arriving with food, one by one.  Sherri was sorting food to prepare for basket making, people were arriving with food, and needed to help her sort.  people started making boxes.  People were putting away other church supplies while waiting to pass out baskets.  People I didn’t know had pulled tickets to donate came with food.  Congregants who over the years have become good friends came to drop things off, couldn’t stay, but donated just the same.  One such person helped clean up turkey drippings from semi-defrosted turkeys before leaving.  Then, families who haven’t been able to participate much in church over the last decade, but have been a part of our Scruffy Family for that time came in… WITH THREE COMPLETE THANKSGIVING BASKETS ALREADY PREPARED!.  I was literally shocked.  Not that they came, but that they came with SOOOO MUCH!!!  And to be honest, I was a little shocked that they came at all, only because oen of these two people had just got out of the hospital the previous week, and I didn’t know their condition, so I was amazed to see them, plus want to deliver baskets!  Then someone else came up to me and said ” You know person >>>>>>>>> that is on your list to deliver food to?  I have them taken care of.  Please take them off your list.”  I shouted over to Sherri (because there were so many people in the sanctuary by now) to come over and pull that person’s name so we didn’t give them another basket by accident.  BUT, this person who said this particular family was cared for CAME IN WITH ANOTHER FULL BASKET FOR ANOTHER FAMILY TOO!   Needless to say, again, I was floored.

One person came in who came to the church two weeks ago, and decided to pull some tickets and donate, telling me how appreciative she was that our church would do something like this.  One by one, more turkeys came in… and we had 20 turkeys show up.  It was 5 to 7.  Someone who came to the church for only three weeks, and felt compelled to pray and ask God for help for a job, then GOT ONE that same week, was helping people they didn’t even know pack baskets, talking to them about how they enjoyed helping out.  I overheard this as I was walking by, and I was floored by it.  People who don’t even know each other working together, happy together, helping each other.

There were families who are quiet attenders at our church, families who’ve been there for years, people who are brand new to our church, families with needs, families that are poor, famliies that are making it ok, people that had food in the oven, packing to go on trips, all with needs, coming and doing this.

Then, 3 minutes later, 2 minutes to 7… it hit me.  I know someone who isn’t here yet who has 4 more turkeys to donate, and is on their way.  We set up four more baskets aside from the ABUNDANCE of food we had, to make those 4 baskets.  Then, roughly 5  after 7… another person came in with ANOTHER turkey!  We had to get a fifth basket set up.  Then, we took the excess and distributed it to other baskets.  I could continue to go on.  But this story needs to end…

So I hopped up to the stage area, gave some instructions to everyone, SAW MORE PEOPLE HERE THAT I DIDN’T KNOW WERE COMING,  and then we prayed for safety of those making deliveries and blessings for those who receive these baskets, that their lives be impacted not just by the meal, but by God’s loving kindness.  I took a handcount of people who were going to pass out baskets, asked for a couple of people to please take two baskets, and then we dispersed.   The family with the 4 additional turkeys arrived, and the scramble was on to get these 5 additional baskets to others in need.  Then it hit me.  I got one to one family I knew could use one.  Then, the second came rather quickly as one of the couples making deliveries said they knew someone who needed one.  Then, the third basket came seconds later when someone said they knew someone in Mt. Clemens who could use one, as they were on assistance.   3 down, 2 to go.  I called the lady who had the 15lb turkey and other food on stand-by, told her I needed none of it, but that I needed one more family.  I couldn’t believe I was calling her asking for that.  She had a person living across the street she didn’t know by name.  We sent a family over there who wasn’t able to give out a basket because they all got swooped up by others. They met with the person I called, and together walked over and delivered the basket.  Last basket to go.  I had someone call me back and we met up to deliver the basket to a small family who needed a break this Thanksgiving.  Finally… all baskets delivered.

Sherri and I left, continued on about our evening.  I got to see a family thankful for a basket this Thanksgiving.  I got to see a family say “Isn’t there a basket left for me to take?  I want to take one!”.  I got to see generosity of people that floored me.  I lost count while talking with Sherri later, on who helped… it was so hard to think of someone who didn’t help out with this meal delivery in some way.  Just floored me.  I got to see so much generosity and love, grace and mercy this Thanksgiving Eve, it was truly amazing and a blessing just to be witness to it.  I’d love to go one and be more detailed about each act I saw, each thing I can remember.  I don’t want the memories to slip away.  Nevertheless, I will continue to get old, the memories will start to fade, and it will be tough to recall the events of this Thanksgiving Eve.

Then, about 10:30, a friend that had left me a voicemail during all of the hustle and bustle of the donation & delivery process Wednesday night facebooked me, asking if it was too late to talk on the phone.  I stopped, called him, and we talked for 15 minutes.  In that conversation he was astonished seeing my posts about how God came through at The Scruffy Church and how he wished he could have been there to pariticpate in it.  We shared what each other was doing for Thanksgiving, said our good-byes, and hung up.  I walked down the hallway, thankful for this person and the friendship I do have with him.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing whenever you read this… if you read it all the way start to finish.  Thank you.  Now, go and build your own memories like this… Let God use you to show his love in practical ways to others.  If you struggle with a relationship with God, or don’t have one… It’s hard to speak appropriately to you, saying that “you’re missing out”.  But I can tell you that the peace, love and joy that I felt I was lacking one week ago today is overflowing in my heart as I write this.  And those things… truly… can only come from God.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2011… and beyond