The last day of the trip summarized the Nashville experience as a whole for me personally…
Throughout the week my team had been working in various homes but had few interactions with the homeowners themselves. The last day we were assigned painting. My initial reaction to this was dissatisfaction because I would much rather destroy moldy roofing or tear out floorboards than paint. Although this house required the smallest amount of physical labor, the impact seemed so much more than all the others combined because of one young boy named Payton…
Payton was the seven-year-old son of Nick, the owner of a house that had suffered from severe flood damage. It was through this little boy that I felt like we finally got it.
I realized that it is not about what you do; it is about why you do it. Service comes down to the purity of your heart. Jesus says in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” I may have had the sorest back ever after putting a crowbar to a roof for hours on end, or I may have endured extreme pain scrubbing out fiberglass from my face after rebuilding a floor, but if I am focused on how these sacrifices affect me who am I truly serving? When the focus is on how everything affects me, I am ultimately serving myself.
I can truly say that I believe my eyes were opened as I painted side by side that little blue-eyed boy. It humbles me to know that some of his very first memories in that house would be a group of crazy college students painting the walls. I smiled as I painted because I knew that these walls would witness the life of this child. He would grow up under the roof we primed and knowing his rambunctious personality he would most likely write all over the walls we painted.
Before we left, we asked Payton to personalize our shirts. Now each of the members of my team has a small handprint on their clothing. With that final act, it seemed as if everything came full circle. We left our mark on the surfaces of that small house in Tennessee, but Payton has forever left a small handprint on our hearts...
...I have been so blessed by this experience and have seen God move in extraordinary ways.
Thank you everyone for making this experience truly amazing.
Glory to God Forever,
Sarah L. Westol
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
