Every good deed has its reward
Certainly, the Lord is just; he rewards godly deeds; the upright will experience his favor. (Psalm 11:7)
This past weekend, I was privileged to join a small group of volunteers from my workplace for a tour of the new Goodwill of Southeast Georgia’s Opportunity Center. The Center’s Mission Compliance and Advancement Coordinator guided us through the facility, explaining their mission to help community members with barriers to employment – be it homelessness, poverty, or even single parenthood. “If you’re moving from couch to couch every night, you’re just trying to survive,” explained Goodwin. “Employment is secondary.”
How well I know this to be true. It would have been easy for me to let my painful marriage interfere with my employment. In the days after I moved away from my second abusive husband, I was afraid to answer the phone at work for fear it would be him – as it often would be.
I had a restraining order, yet my spouse would sit in his work truck outside the fence that surrounded my employers’ parking lot and wait for me to come out at night. I remember him calling me one day and telling me how easy it would be for him to ram my vehicle, push it off the road, and kidnap me to take me home. I had a restraining order, but such things are little more than a piece of paper with a threat behind it. Paper can’t stop trucks from ramming vehicles any more than flowers can prevent people from walking on the grass.
I learned from experience how to put my home-life into a box and keep it there while I was at work. I poured all my energy into my performance and consistently surpassing what was expected of me. I loved working, and I flourished at my job. Employment took my mind off of my troubles. I had friends who supported me there, and I often felt that I was more myself with semi-strangers than I could ever be with a man I said vows to. I was happy working. I was free there.
I can’t imagine not having a job. It provided confidence and gave me the means to escape, restart, and enhance my life. My employment offered tangible evidence that I was worthy, just as God always did, even when I was told I wasn’t. It helped me move beyond my temporary circumstances and into a more comfortable lifestyle.
I have my own home now, but I’ve lived in Section 8 housing. I know what it’s like to have roaches that move from apartment to apartment, despite how clean you keep your space. I spent years living from paycheck to paycheck and counted my blessings for every little treat I could afford on the clearance rack and every penny in my pocket.
I’m grateful for everything God has given me in life, but one doubtlessly divine sanction has always been my steadily improving employment. If I didn’t have a job, I would have remained under the total control of my spouse. If I didn’t have a good income, I couldn’t have moved out on my own. If I didn’t earn enhanced skills, I couldn’t have worked up the ladder. If I didn’t have the stamina to pursue my degree while working, I wouldn’t have the job I do today. I’ve had one blessing on top of another in life – but for me, it all started with prayer, perseverance, and a good paycheck.
Goodwill’s mission is clear: Support. Educate. Employ. I’ve spent most of my life shopping at Goodwill. I’ve said before that I used to live in the apartment that Goodwill built. I’ve been happy with my purchases from their retail stores, but I never fully understood their mission until now. My visit on Saturday gave me a whole new understanding of what they’re trying to do: improve lives to improve the community – one person at a time.
In just a few hours on a Saturday morning, I learned the bigger picture of how this outstanding organization does more than sell gently used clothing and household goods to persons with limited incomes. Goodwill strives to make a difference, which is something I work hard to do every day, myself.
Our tour guide advised us that the Opportunity Center was built to train individuals to achieve better jobs. Goodwill caseworkers seek to reduce barriers for anyone hoping to find their way out of poverty. With computer-based and administrative training, program participants can find “a hand up, not a hand out” – a stellar philosophy I never knew originated from Goodwill’s founder, Methodist minister, Rev. Edgar J. Helms. (1)
While my volunteer service at Goodwill was rewarding unto itself, as an added bonus, I found a stellar pair of red heels in my precise size, while searching for matching mates to bundle together for the retail store. I had been looking for a pair of shoes exactly like this for months. Imagine my delight when I encountered the heels in a fifteen by six-foot bin I was sorting through.
Upon presentation of my find to the floor lead as he walked our group out of the warehouse, he advised my fellow volunteers that they, too, might find treasures “just like this young lady did,” if they wanted to stick around and shop. I could only laugh as I proudly paid for what felt like a great reward for a few hours of service.
The real reward, though, is what God can do through all of us if we only allow Him to do so. Find a good deed to perform for others. Seek out a way to bless those less fortunate around you. Pursue that calling inside of you to make a difference.
You never know what reward awaits you: a better job, a happy heart, or even a new pair of red shoes. Don’t be afraid to reach into the bin and see what you can find when you seek to do more for God and others.
Reference:
- Goodwill Industries International. (2020). Goodwill’s history. Retrieved from https://www.goodwill.org/about-us/goodwills-history/.