“Serving people in a food pantry is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.” – Barry Smith

Filling and Fulfilling

“I donate my time every Tuesday at a local food pantry.”  Barry Smith said.  “Serving people in a food pantry is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever hand.”

Then he went on to explain.

“I didn’t even know that there were such profoundly poor people in our community.”  He continued.  “But I’ve learned a couple of things by working there.  Things that I never would have expected!”

The first thing he talked about was types of distance.  He lives in a different town, from where the pantry is, and while it’s really just a short drive for him to get there, about twenty minutes,  his own heart was much farther from the people he serves more than he imagined.

“I found that distance doesn’t matter.  The people I attend to there are just like me in most ways.  Being there with them and getting to know them has closed a gap in my understanding.  It has also closed a gap in my heart!”  He clarified.

There are different aspects to distance.  Sometimes we remain focused on a concept of separation and time exclusively.  But, Barry believes that a larger concern is a common trait that seems to be shared by almost all people.  That characteristic is one of exclusion.

“For some reason, people decide that there is an imaginary line that exists between us!  I’ve found that this line is arbitrary and something of mental fabrication.  It’s a story we tell ourselves!”  Barry said, with a warmth in his eyes.

Another kind of story people tell themselves is that everyone will be happy if they would simply be like they, themselves, are.  That hasn’t been Barry’s experience at all.

“Some of the poorest people I meet at the pantry are also the happiest people I’ve ever met.  And, they don’t want to change their economic position in any way.  They’re just happy!  They’re grateful!  They have a feeling that what they have is enough.  Maybe their stomachs are growling a little, but their demeanor is not!  Have you ever met someone who has whatever they want, that money can buy, yet they’re unhappy?

Now, don’t get me wrong.  They are millions of people who are financially healthy and happy at the same time.  And, there are millions of people who are who are financially unhealthy and unhappy as well.  Financial status isn’t the message of Barry’s story.

“I donate my time every Tuesday at a local food pantry.”  Barry Smith said.  “Serving people in a food pantry is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever hand.”

Then he went on to explain.

“I didn’t even know that there were such profoundly poor people in our community.”  He continued.  “But I’ve learned a couple of things by working there.  Things that I never would have expected!”

The look on Barry’s face told the unspoken part of his tale.  His eyes were bright as he was relating his account during lunch.  His stomach was filled.  But it is the relationships he’s developed with the people he serves, as well as the people he serves with, that have given him the too rare gift of being filled and fulfilled.