Faith & daily life
At the heart of our faith is the belief that God meets us where we are in all the places and relationships in
which we live, work, play and relate. We pray, support and encourage one another as we grow deeper in faith
and learn to trust God with our whole lives. Some of us are new on the journey; others have been at it for
a while. All of us can find inspiration and hope in the stories of our fellow travelers. FAITH & DAILY LIFE is
featured with stories of God at work in YOUR life.
The Blessings of Volunteering
by Rosemary Dean
It was ten years ago that Bethlehem agreed to host and staff a new program
called The Gathering, a program for people with early to mid-stage memory loss.
I was approached to participate as a leader and after learning more about what
would be involved, I felt called to be a part of what I saw as a real need in the
community. I liked the uniqueness of the program in that in addition to a lead
team, each participant would have a volunteer with them for the entire day. I
had been looking for a volunteer opportunity which would fill a need and be a
good fit for me.
Rosemary Dean
...Even though I don’t
know where this
journey is leading us,
I do know that Jesus
is walking it with us.
At the outset I had committed to serving for a year, but God had other plans for
me. One year became two, and then three, and by the time I had retired from a
lead position, I had served nine years.
I have been incredibly blessed by being a part of this ministry. Friendships have
been cemented, I have used gifts I didn’t know that I possessed, and my faith
has grown as a result of how I have seen God at work through the dedicated
volunteers and the families we have served. Plus, I was really having fun and
looked forward to Thursdays with our little Gathering family!
Along the way, as our team chose themes for each Gathering session, I was
learning new things and being challenged and invigorated. I was also learning
about patience and compassion. Then somewhere along the way, I began to
notice subtle little changes in my own life. My husband was beginning to show
signs of memory loss. In retrospect, I feel that God was training me for my
new role as a caregiver. I still have a long way to go, especially in the patience
category, to be the kind of caregiver I want to be.
Pastor Mary’s sermon referring to Jesus being in the boat with Simon Peter helps
me to understand that even though I don’t know where this journey is leading
us, I do know that Jesus is walking it with us. I am incredibly grateful to my
Bethlehem faith community and all the wonderful volunteers at The Gathering
for being there for me. I am practicing giving thanks for the little blessings in life
and for my own amazing family for being my major support system. Indeed, God
sometimes works in mysterious ways to accomplish his purposes.
4