What Have You Done For Me Lately?

It's no longer the attitude of the country, but simply a line from a song.
Watching Jay Leno tonight - which I NEVER do - a PSA came on from our new president with a call to service. He mentioned a website - so I pulled out the laptop and searched for volunteer opportunites. And as I'm shy in a lot of social situations, I wanted to find something I'd be comfortable with and still make an impact. So I get to the website and do a couple of seaches: donating blood - nope, last time I did that I fainted - apparently I'm anemic; running a website for midwives - not sure how that's charitble; etc. A few more clicks later and I saw a headline "Knitters, Quilters, Crocheters Needed". Eureka. So I'm now registered with volunteermatch.org and am awaiting details from the organizers for a Hospice in Mass. which needs prayer shawls. To be able to use my passion to be of service to someone in need, is truely a gift.
One of the long lasting lessons I learned from the Ursulines was it was my duty to sacrifice - that was how you served God - when you put that 25 cents in the little milk carton bank for the pagan babies, it meant you weren't getting ice cream or a cup cake at lunch, but those babies were going to get something they needed. You didn't need the ice cream - you had everything you needed - but they didn't. It's a fairly simple practice. And one I'd lost. Most of my acts of charity these days involve a credit card number. I'll still keep up my donations to doctors without borders but now I'll physically be doing something. Baby steps!