Outside of my comfort zone on all accounts including my outward appearance complete with the fluffy chef’s hat (‘blinged’ out with rhinestones) and an apron also minimally bedazzled, I embarked on a weekend of service in the kitchen. I gave the true chef’s a request – “Tell me what to do. I will take out trash, wash dishes, clean floors, it doesn’t matter the task but I want to be told what to do.”
I’m so used to coordinating, directing, implementing, multi-tasking, and being proactive it felt like a vacation to be one of the parts of this fine tuned machine in order to get things done. Besides, there were 10 of us on the cook team and I knew they each had particular gifts, this gave me the opportunity to get to know them and also just be goofy. 🙂
What I learned in putting myself in this position is this:
Don’t use Pam cooking spray (it’s water based)
Spending the extra money on sharp kitchen utensils (Ie: a good set of knives, peeler, etc) saves time and effort!
People actually eat clams. (ewww)
It is much better to give than it is to receive…watching the women come into the kitchen meal and after meal, so appreciative was a gift.
Fr. Lynn likes onions…LOTS of them. Oh, and Red Bull! 😉
There is no sleep when staying in a cabin 100 yards away from a train track (that has three trains that run at 12am, 1am and 2am) AND when a bunk mate’s cell phone chimes from incoming emails every 15 minutes beginning at 2:35am.
When you are doing for others the grogginess from lack of sleep and aches and pains from standing all day disappear as long as you keep moving… DON’T STOP! Because the second you stop then it’s harder to get back into gear.
Certain people snore (I won’t say who…but they were lucky b/c the train and cell phone trumped their noise) and certain people like to sleep with sound machines which added a CRASH of waves or a CHIRPING to the train running through the house and annoying cell phone announcement.
Working with music makes every job more fun, even if it is washing dishes or taking out the trash.
When working with 10 women that come into a well-organized job knowing their position that 10 women can actually get along very well.
Most importantly I came to know each woman as an individual and learned something new from each cook team member as well as their gifts and talents, recognizing what brings the joy of the Lord as their strength.
This weekend was a gift. I wasn’t certain why my ‘yes’ was needed for this particular task but there are many conversations that took place over the course of the weekend that added to all of the above experiences to make up a weekend ordained by my Father in heaven so that I could learn, grow and love deeper.
I wish I could share more specifics but the retreat is one that details are not to be discussed. I do extend the invitation for you to attend one in your area or if you are from Kingwood, we will have another womens retreat in April. The mens will be in February.
Blessings
Shannon