I've got talent

Since I left school in January, I have been giving a lot of thought to my place in the world. Obviously my primary position is that of domestic goddess - that is why I left school. But there is always a nagging "there has to be more" kind of feeling somewhere in the back of my head. Part of that is my need for mental stimulation on some level other than Sesame Street, but another part is knowing that motherhood is only for season and wondering what else is in store for me.

So I have been reading a lot. I spent about a month studying Roman life in the first century. I memorized the first chapter of Ephesians (I intend to eventually memorize the entire book). Right now I'm reading a New Testament Survey book that I borrowed from a friend who is in seminary. But I have also been looking for ways that I can get involved in something outside the house - to be able to make an impact on something, somewhere without interfering with family life.

Before I went back to school I had looked into volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center, but dropped that idea to pursue a new degree. Out of the blue, someone called me from the center a few weeks ago - wanting to know if I was still interested in helping. The funny part is, she thought the note to call me was a few weeks old but it was dated April 2006 not April 2007. I thought that this might be just the thing for me right now, so I agreed to go in and learn the ropes.

The place is called New Hope. They offer counseling and abortion alternatives. You can check them out here http://www.newhopefamilyservices.com/ For girls who chose to keep their babies they offer physical support with things like cribs, diapers and clothes. The job I volunteered for involves sorting out donations and keeping the "Care Corner" organized. They have a good sized room that is overflowing with baby clothes - boxes, bags, and piles of clothes all over the place. It is pretty overwhelming when you walk in there (there really isn't much room to walk). So after an orientation, I spent about an hour sorting clothes - some needed to be laundered, some needed to be thrown away, and the rest needed to be sorted by size, gender, and season.

The woman who was training me kept saying "Wow, you've really got a head for this!" And after observing the way a few other people worked in there I realized that this is not apparently a job that anybody can do. So this week I discovered that I have a talent for sorting clothes. Who knew? And wouldn't you think that a person with such talents would have a clean house? But alas, this is not the case!