Do Small Things With Great Love by Samantha

Do Small Things With Great Love by Samantha - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

Picture a little five year old girl in her blue plaid jumper with pigtails in her hair carrying a couple to go boxes in her hands. In a few short moments that little girl rings Mrs. Sheridan’s doorbell and waits for her to open the door. When she does she hands her the boxes containing her fish dinner and desserts that she receives every Friday during Lent. The little girl talks to Mrs. Sheridan for a few moments, gets back in her grandpa’s truck and they drive to the next house. She continues delivering dinners for a few hours and then their job is done for the night. This was what a typical Friday during Lent has looked like for me since I was five years old and I am incredibly thankful for this. Delivering fish dinners on Fridays during Lent became second nature to me because it was something that I just did with my grandpa. However, as the years passed by, I realized that delivering fish meals to the shut-ins of our parish meant more to me than I realized. Before I knew it I had developed a desire to make a difference, and a passion for the elderly with a little help from my grandpa.

Throughout my life I have spent a lot of time with my grandpa. He taught me what genuine and sincere service looks like as well as the importance of putting others before yourself. He was humble, he served others out of love, and he honestly never expected anything in return. He taught me that a life dedicated to others was a life well lived and the importance of serving those who could never repay you. He was undeniably one of my favorite people on this earth who has taught me how to bring a little bit of heaven to each person I encounter.

So how exactly did delivering fish meals with my grandpa help me develop a passion to make a difference in my community? As a young girl I didn’t think too deeply about my actions; I just kind of went through the motions when delivering dinners. However, as I got older I started to build relationships with the people we delivered to; I began to look forward to the short five minute conversations I would have with them each Friday. I realized that the interaction I had with them may have been the only interaction they had with someone all day or maybe even in that week. I began to understand that I could bring joy to them by doing this small thing with great love. Over the years I became attached to the shut-ins and slowly but surely I developed a passion and love for them. There was just something about these sweet elderly individuals that made me smile. As I continued to serve these meals each Friday, I began to understand that they were bringing me more joy than I could ever give them.

Time continued to pass by and I entered high school then it was time to begin college and my schedule became slightly busier. Between sports practices and being a few hours from home, I was no longer able to deliver meals every Friday. I looked forward to weekends that would allow me to return home and help deliver dinners. When I was not able to come home and help grandpa would tell me that they were asking where Sam was and how I was doing. There is one particular woman that stands out across all my years of delivering; Mrs. Sheridan. Every week she would look so excited to see me and would want to catch up and see how I was doing. This woman showed me so much love and I only got to see her a few times each year. Often times I wondered; why did Mrs. Sheridan choose to invest in me? How could this elderly shut-in woman bring my teenage self so much joy? It was clearly because of the love she shared with me.

Throughout the fifteen years of delivering dinners; Grandpa, Mrs. Sheridan and all the other shut-ins I encountered taught me a variety of lessons over the years. I learned the importance of investing in people and how to do small things with great love. It is because of this small community service activity that I have the love for service that I do. My passion for service has led me to spend over 800 hours giving back to my community through a variety of avenues. As you can see the time I spent with my grandpa delivering fish meals spurred a chain reaction and truly did ignite my passion for service. A wise man once said, “You have never lived a day in your life until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” But a far wiser man, my grandpa, taught me how to live out this quote and I am eternally grateful.