Servants at Heart shared its first meal with the patrons and staff of Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach in Lincoln this evening.  I want to say a very sincere and heartfelt “thank you” to all of you who worked so hard to make this night a success.  From planning the meal, to purchasing supplies, to preparing and serving – it took many hands and hearts to bring this meal to fruition…I feel very privileged to serve with each of you.  Well done!

 Of course, the last few days have been very busy with last minute preparations, and so the ride home this evening was perhaps the first opportunity I’d had to reflect a bit on my own experience in this effort.   Though many images will be recalled in the coming days, the lingering feeling I recognize from this evening is that of being nourished – physically, emotionally, spiritually.  In this simple act of preparing and sharing a meal with the patrons of MTKO, I glimpsed a profound sense of our collective humanity – the feeling of a few steps of a long journey shared with other sojourners on the path, and already the tug of wanting to do it all again.  As I sit in my warm home with my family sleeping upstairs, I wonder about our neighbors in Lincoln tonight – about how life unfolds for them after our paths diverged earlier this evening. 

 For me at least, this is about much more than food, though I don’t wish to minimize the importance of hunger relief.  I am honored and grateful to have this opportunity to serve others, to help make their journey through life a bit easier, if only for one night a month.  The smiles and conversations shared, the new friends made, and old ones renewed, will last much longer than the meal. 

 Perhaps, through our actions tonight, the Holy Spirit planted a seed or two of the transcendent – that may someday bloom into something wonderful for someone we encountered this evening. 

 Time will tell.   

 And if, by chance, we entertained angels unawares tonight – I can only hope that our small, but determined effort, found favor in their eyes.

 Jason

Nebraskans know how to get things done.

This September, national Hunger Action Month, columns in the “Local View” have illustrated the impressive ways that Nebraskans respond to the needs of our friends and neighbors: The folks at Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach continue to serve people in an extraordinarily warm and dignified manner, the Food Bank of Lincoln is meeting the challenge of growing demand, and Nebraska members of the Army National Guard stepped up to the task of delivering food and water to hurricane victims. September even marks the beginning of harvest time, when those involved in our state’s massive agriculture industry pull in a crop that helps to feed the nation.

Read more on the Lincoln Journal-Star’s Web site.