A few years ago, I was on a service trip to Kentucky with my youth group. We were working on a trailer-home where a single mother lived with her children. My father was one of the supervisors for the trip. He was teasing me saying that because I was a girl, I couldn’t do real work.
After I assisted my father and one other student in remodeling the bathroom, I decided to begin a job of my own. However, I was completely unaware of the impact I would have on this woman.
She only had a solid storm door for the front door of her trailer. This created two problems. She could not let in fresh air or watch her children play outside without letting bugs into her home. As it was summer, the trailer was quite stifling without the front door open. Not even giving it a second thought, I removed the old door and replaced it by hanging a new screen door and a storm door with windows.
As soon as I was finished, I walked away only to turn around and see the woman smiling from ear to ear as she opened and closed the door repeatedly. She would open the door and shut it without saying a word just doing it over and over. She turned around and said to me that she could actually keep her door closed but still watch her children play which meant more to her than a million dollars.
I was so proud of myself because the smile on that woman’s face made all the work and all the comments seem miniscule and I just enjoyed making her happy. I have carried that moment with me for many years. Every time I think about it, the pride of my accomplishment inspires me to take on new challenges.
– Kelly T, Indianapolis
