Use it On Monday, by Michelle DeRusha
Michelle writes a daily blog about finding faith in the everyday at Graceful. On Monday's she reflects on Sunday's sermon in a weekly post entitled "Use it on Monday." She's nice enough to let us re-post it on Southwood's blog. You can read it here each week and then click over to Michelle's blog for more of her writing.
The Umbrella
Bunk bed made, suitcases and boxes unpacked, clothes hung neatly in the closet, I kissed my parents goodbye, watched their car drive away and then made my way down the hall to the community room where the rest of the Dwight Hall fourth floor freshman were gathering.
It was quiet as we filed into the space, and I warily eyed my new floor mates, all strangers, as I scanned the room for an empty seat. Settling into a worn chair next to a girl with straight blond hair and blue eyes, I stared at my feet while the RA reviewed the dorm rules.
It was only when I stepped outside a little while later to walk across campus to the freshman convocation that I noticed the torrential downpour.
I don’t recall who had the umbrella or who made the offer to share. What I do remember well is that the blond-haired girl and I shared an umbrella all the way across campus. And in those soggy minutes as the rain pattered hard over our heads, all the sweaty nerves and pit-in-the-stomach fear of college vanished.
“Hi, I’m Raechel,” she’d said, extending her hand beneath the umbrella. And we’d laughed at the absurdity of the rain and the wind and the fact that we were two strangers suddenly foisted together beneath one umbrella.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that in our simple act of sharing, a life-long friendship was born.
Yesterday morning in church when I listened to the reading, from Acts 2:42-47, and heard the word "share" repeated four times in five verses, I was reminded of that first rainy day of college:
- They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer. (42)
- And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had . (44)
- They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. (45)
- They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity…(46)
The apostles shared worship and prayer. They shared their possessions with each other. They shared their wealth with those in need. And they shared in fellowship and community.
In sharing they opened themselves up to God and to one another. In sharing they grew in their love for God and for each other. In sharing they grew their community and their faith.
Sharing was the catalyst, the entryway, to their transformation both as individuals and as a community.
The truth is, when we share our possessions or our time or our money, when we share our compassion or sympathy, our joy and our praise, we share a little bit of our heart, too. We open ourselves up to vulnerability, we crack the door, and in doing so, we foster the possibility of connection between ourselves and those around us.
That exactly what happened for Rach and me that rainy afternoon on our first day of college. We dared to share not only the umbrella but a little piece of ourselves, and it was the beginning of something wonderful.
So today I’m asking myself what I can share to further connection and relationship in my community. My time? My money? My faith? My home? My prayer?
And I ask you the same.
What little bit can you share today to help further God’s kingdom on Earth? You never know, it might be something as simple as an umbrella.
You can read more of Michelle's writing on her blog Graceful.
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