Shining the light

For the past four years, teams of Christian kids from the Luverne area have served on a weeklong, in-town mission trip doing the things locally that youth groups often travel hundreds of miles to do in other places.
Under the supervision of two or three adults, the teens paint houses, replace siding, build ramps, landscape, pull weeds, move furniture … and
even change light bulbs.
Yes, change light bulbs.
This particular recipient of the Service Over Self group had moved back to Luverne recently after living her life elsewhere. Her condo was nice, but a little dark. She had new, brighter light bulbs and a ladder, but age and health prevented her from using them. It seemed almost silly to ask for such a little bit of “help,” but she did.
Imagine her surprise when nine teenagers and two leaders showed up at her front door.
“Oh my, there are a lot of you!”
Two-thirds of the team quickly moved on to another project, while the others stayed to replace light bulbs.
Like gazelles, the teens scaled the ladder, switched out bulbs and jumped down.
A particularly tall teen dusted the tops of door frames and windows.
“This seems so small, I know,” the woman said, “but you have no idea what this means to me. It’s not easy getting old.”
As is their custom, before leaving, the teens asked how they could pray for the recipient of their service – then they did. They prayed that the Light of Christ would shine in her home along with the new light bulbs.
She returned the blessing.
“Before you go, there’s something I want to show you,” she said, returning with a faded picture of a group of high school kids.
Pointing to the tall, handsome kid in the back row she said, “This is a high school picture of my son David and his friends from Show Choir. In high school they performed in Europe. They had so much fun.”
The teens politely listened to the woman speak.
“He was accepted to West Point.”
“Twenty-three days after his high school graduation he was killed by a drunk driver.”
The kids looked again at the kid in the picture. Averting their eyes, they blinked back tears that were joining hers.
“I just wanted to tell you, and to ask you to tell the others, don’t drink and drive.”
They nodded.
A quiet group of kids walked back to their car and a woman in a condo stayed behind with brighter light bulbs.
Both having been blessed.