dig narrative

I remember how my father used to lecture me when I was a child. Whether I made my sister cry or made her cry a lot he always asked, “If someone did that to you, would you like it?” That has always stuck with me, this idea of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Throughout most of my life I like to think that I always felt for the outcast, for the loser, or for anyone going through tough times. I may not have been through what they have been through, but I put myself in their shoes and could feel sympathy, a desire to help them. I guess this is why I decided to go on a Habitat For Humanity trip during the Spring Break of 2008. I remember meeting the future owner of the house, the look of thankfulness and joy on her face. I remember feeling good, feeling good about the time I spent, and the work I did. I decided then and there that I would go the following year as well. Spring Break of 2009 rolled around and I was ready to take a break from school, to build a house, to feel good about myself. The group was a little bit smaller this year, about 20 kids piled into 5 cars, and we headed down to Winston-Salem, NC. Something struck me as different this time around. I got to know the group I was building the house with, even though we spent 5-6 hours working every day we spent the rest of the day together as well. Last year I felt as though I were working alone, a lone hammer striking in nails, but this time I noticed that we were a team pounding our hammers together in unison for this person whom we’ve never met, but loved. We worked together, ate together, lived together, and loved together. The atmosphere of community surrounded us as well; the community of Winston-Salem received us with open arms and we could not help, but to embrace back. Churches fed us chicken-pot pie until we were content and making sure we didn’t go hungry after they gave us leftovers, one of the churches had children that put on a talent show for us making us laugh feeding our souls, kind, old ladies mothered us by cooking a home cooked meal of lasagna and garlic bread topping it all off with baked brownies with ice cream on top. We became closer as a fellowship, as a community; we laughed together as we played card games, as inside jokes formed, pointed fingers at each other in the bloodthirsty, accusing game of mafia. I realized that this is what we were building, a community, relationships of love. I hope that we did our part in encouraging and helping by adding another family into a home that we built for this very purpose: introducing a new relationship of love.