Full Circle

I started a new job last month. A job completely different than anything I’ve done before. Something totally unexpected.

I am the new food pantry manager for Reaching Our City (ROC) – a non-profit located on the 10th Street corridor of Oklahoma City. (We also run the Tulakes pantry in the Lyrewood area of OKC.)

It isn’t a job I was looking for or anything I have had experience with. Yet, from the moment I walked into the pantry waiting area the day of my interview, I have known a strong sense of peace that this is where I am supposed to be.

That day, as I looked at all the people waiting to be served, I experienced an incredible déjà vu moment.

I looked at Richard and Jennifer (who were doing my interview) blinked back tears and said, “I remember this feeling.”

They, of course, had no idea what I was talking about. But I remembered clearly and was nearly overcome by the memory.

It happened on December 16^th, twenty plus years ago. I had walked into the county DHS office to apply for food stamps. I was ashamed, alone and trying to hide my embarrassment behind my pageboy haircut. I had two friends that worked there and was praying desperately that they would not know I had come in.

We were in the middle of our “Great Depression,” that time in our lives when both my husband and I were suffering with clinical depression. Larry was on medical leave, I was unable to find a job. It was Christmas-time and we were running out of food. It was one of the hardest days of my life.

Thankfully, it got a bit better when my DHS case worker, Cheryl, heaped me with undeserved dignity. She told me not to be embarrassed and promised me, “You will get better.” She also served me food from the DHS food pantry, “So you will have something in your house to tide you over until your food stamps arrive.”

It was a turning point on my journey to wholeness. (I tell this story in detail in Carol Kent’s book, Between a Rock and a Grace Place).

These last two weeks have been a bit crazy. I’ve been continuing my other two part-time jobs and doing the food pantry as well. I’ve discovered muscles I didn’t know I had and relived memories I thought I’d forgotten.

I’ve had only one day where I wanted to cry. That was mainly because I still have ankle pain from my fall last June and overdid it a bit. (FYI — It is hard to not lift and haul stuff at a food pantry!) Exhausted, I’ve been asleep nearly every night by 9 o’clock.

Thankfully, I’m still smiling.

I’ve discovered a few things already…

• You are never too old to start a new thing. (I’m nearly a senior citizen y’all.)
• Food pantries don’t have lunch breaks.
• All people long to be made to feel important (I actually already knew that one) and,
• Those who have little are sometimes the most generous people of all.

As I’ve plunged into the day-to-day learning of how a food pantry operates, I’ve been reminded that life often comes full circle, that the things we learned in the past can become the lessons we offer to others and that God never allows us a moment that He can’t make useful in our future.

I’ve also thought often of Cheryl and the hope she extended to me that day. My prayer is that I can pass her generosity on to those we serve. (And we serve a lot — my first week over 400+ families.)

This video, from our yearly fund raising dinner held last Thursday evening, will tell you a bit more about ROC and what we do. It’s a great place to serve. If you are local, we  always need volunteers. (Smile!)