By Liz Coates, Executive Director of Good News Clinics
Sometimes we are given glimpses into the Kingdom of God. I was given such a glimpse recently.
It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. We had carefully prepared The Clinics parking lot to become a drive-through for families and patients struggling to make ends meet to pull through for food boxes. The Georgia Mountain Food Bank truck – a big, shiny ray of hope – pulled into position and starting unloading pallet after pallet of incredible food. There were colorful boxes of fresh produce – squash, zucchini, apples, celery, potatoes. There were large bags of frozen meat and artisan baked deli breads. The food was beautiful.
But, what was happening was more beautiful. Families who just need a little break, a little help, a little hope – began lining up in cars around the block. They pulled in two by two, and volunteers greeted them with giant smiles behind their masks as they popped trunks to feed these families – 350 of them – for a week or more with healthy, beautiful foods.
This is what the Kingdom of God looks like. We pray for it, saying, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” How joyous to see it! The Kingdom of God looks like regular people, neighbors, organizations collaborating to ensure communal wellbeing. The Kingdom of God looks like smiles behind masks on the faces of people not only willing, but joyful to share. The Kingdom of God looks like medical assistants and entrepreneurs and educators and even children, showing up, some still dressed in scrubs after a long day of caring for the poor and saying, “I want to help.” The Kingdom of God is not on a mountain top far away or in some unreachable, complicated place. It’s here, on sweaty, sunny afternoons, in parking lots or any other place people say, “I want to help,” and do.
“If you cannot feed a hundred people, feed one.” — Mother Teresa
