The Light In Ourselves Shining On Others

By Linda Midkiff

When my week as a chaperone for Soul in the City ended, Mike Beam kindly asked if I could write about my experience. I realize it wasn't only procrastination keeping me from writing this, it was that I just couldn't find the right words. 

Fr. Rick talks about the "veil lifting." As he said in last Sunday's sermon "It's not about explaining the experience. It's about allowing the experience to change us." This came as a huge sigh of relief because I can't really explain what happened that week in Lakeland. Sure, I can explain what we did. We painted houses for the elderly. We cleaned food pantries for outreach kitchens. We picked up trash around lakes. We cleared fields overgrown with weeds and brush. But I can't explain the feeling, the "transfiguration." I can't explain the tears I had when I saw our youth locking arms swaying to songs about Jesus each night, other than it was the Holy Spirit moving us all...moving through each of us during serving and worship, during games, during meals. The Holy Spirit rushed my heart as I watched our youth break down the stereotypes and look beyond size and shapes and color of each other -- obstacles for most any group of people but especially poignant in a group of teens delicately navigating their social circles. 

At the end of the week we shared with each other some highlights of our week. One of our own youth spoke of taking the time to listen to a homeless man. Just listening and being present with him. She said "It's the light in others that shows us the light in ourselves."  We not only shined during our week in Soul in the City, we shined our light on others.