Giving Of Yourself

Health is often discussed with matters of giving to yourself; you give your body good nutrition, good supplements, give yourself hydration, movement, and more. But have you ever thought of giving of yourself, in a way of giving your knowledge, your hands, your time, your resources?

I think giving of yourself is another therapeutic modality that may be underused and under “prescribed”. This weekend, I had the good fortune of starting my volunteer job at Jacob’s House, a hospitality home for loved ones who’s family member is in one of our nearby hospitals. 

Jacob’s House inspires me and reminds me that tragedy can be turned into great triumph. It started with the unfortunate loss of a son, to a car accident, that Shawn and Stephanie Nelson soon after gave birth to the idea to bring a “Ronald McDonald” like facility to our Temecula/Murrieta Valley.

My role is being an on-call intake coordinator, so that if someone needs to be checked into Jacob’s House, I’ll meet and greet them, show them around, and check in on the property and other guests. I love that it is a commitment that is easy to work in my schedule, one shift per month, and likely just one hour of “work” or less. 

Yesterday was special, it was my very first day, and I got to meet a family from Ireland, who’s son is luckily improving and out of ICU, but still has a road of recovery in the hospital. The Father whom I spoke with, recounted all the generosity that has been bestowed upon his family, from the warm welcome of Jacob’s House, to the lending of a car to get to and from the hospital, to another person hosting them prior, and I was so impressed, in the face of tragedy, he saw all the goodness of others, and thus got to help spend his energy, not on the basics of food and shelter, rather showering his son with love who was struggling for his life.

My challenge to you is to consider, what cause, what charity, what can you do in one hour per month to give of yourself to the COMMUNITY so that we may gain UNITY.