Goody Two Shoes

In honor of Martin Luther King day today, the Little Man and I had a chance to serve with Samaritan's Feet,
(http://www.samaritansfeet.org/)
providing shoes for community members in need.
We had started the morning off in Sunday School, were the topic of the day was be becoming a disciple. (ever feel like the Holy Spirit works in your life?) I also had the kiddos watch Dr.King's "I have a Dream" speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Which for some of them, it was the first time they had heard him speak. They were transfixed and for my son, it had set the tone for the rest of the day.
We went to serve after church. For a kiddo with autism, the fact we weren't following our routine was a little troubling, but we made a nice recovery.
We got to the SF Ministry Center and were ready to work. Samaritan's Feet is an organization that provide shoes to those in need, both around the world and here in the US. When I count my blessings in my gratitude journal, I always add having shoes on my feet as a blessing. In many areas, there are no paved roads or sewage systems, so that is what you are walking through. Even in our own country, with today's economic circumstances, many kids are wearing shoes that dont fit properly, and are unable to fix that problem.
The guests were invited by 12 different agencies, and included families and individuals. Seeing kids his own age really impacted my son. He went from whining about not going home to play with his toys to being grateful he had multiple pairs of shoes to wear.
An object lesson come to life.
The guests had their feet washed by a team of volunteers and dried. They were then fitted with a brand new pair of shoes.
We served as shoe runners. We got shoes from the table and handed them to the guests. Little Man worked with me, and was very quiet the whole time.
We stayed about an hour, and on the way home, we had a great discussion on want VS need. Little Man said he never expected to see kids his own age there. He also was surprised that he, a 9 year old, was able to do something to make it better. Pay it forward is a common phrase in our home. I am a firm believer if you've been blessed you best bless others. I never understood people who didn't give back to the world. It's all about karma-you put out bad vibes, they come back to you.
Im just grateful my son helped to put love in action yesterday.