A Day of Good Deeds

My morning started with spotting Z Man out my bedroom window cleaning the snow off the cars of our neighbors. No one told him to, he was never asked, he went car by car using the snow sweeper to wipe off the windows. I hurried downstairs to capture the picture, just to find my camera's battery uncharged. So I ran back upstairs to get my iphone and took a few shots from the window and this one below outdoors. Although, I would love to give full credit to Z Man, he was actually inspired by Humble dad's acts of kindness the night before. After Isha Salat (the night prayer) at our local Masjid parking lot, Humble dad was out with his sons cleaning the newly fallen snow off the windows of fellow Muslims who were there praying.

Sweeping the snow was an unplanned Good Deed, but I already had a planned charity work for my Beloveds today. We were going to make bagged lunches for the homeless people in Baltimore. I tried to call some friends to help assemble the lunch bags, however, no one was available. One friend was able to drop off fruit and bags of vegetables and another friend brought water, but was not planning on staying. So I began to get nervous, could my children make 42 halal turkey and beef sandwiches themselves?

They were definitely up for the test. Big A began with designing a little note of inspiration.

Abraham said, “Peace be with you! I shall

implore forgiveness of my Lord for you,

for He has been gracious to me.” 

~Quran 19:47

  

                                                       Hardship may dishearten at first,

                                                       but every hardship passes away.

                                                       All despair is followed by hope;

                                                       all darkness is followed by sunshine.

~Rumi

They all helped glue the notes on the bags.

When my friend came to drop off the water, she decided to stay and help with the assembly, what a blessing! As my boys were making the sandwiches they said this is what it may feel like to make lunch for the Duggars' of 19 kids and counting. Our assembly line was as follows: S Man put on the mayonnaise, family friend put on the mustard, Lil A put on the cheese, Z Man put on the meat. Then Big A put the sandwich in a bag and placed it in a brown bag with water. I added the fruit and veggies and taped the bag at the end because my stapler was not working. My Beloveds did it! They made 42 lunch bags, I was a little worried about making that many sandwiches, however my Beloveds are hard workers. It was a great lesson in team work: they worked fast together!

All 42 lunches packed in the car ready to drive to the shelter on Central Ave and Baltimore Street.

Humble dad pointed out how cold it was for us to hand out lunch bags. Some of my Beloveds wanted to get into the warmth of our car. However people on the street do not have that luxury. They were cold and many of them were asking for gloves.

So if you are in the Baltimore area and you have the resource to donate gloves, please take some down to the shelter. However, if you live any place that there is freezing weather and homeless people, donate gloves. Most people remember the coat drive, but forget the gloves. . .

It also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday in Baltimore.

And MashaAllah, the great brother that leads the Muslim program to feed the homeless for 4 years strong, also was having a party at his house.

Although watching the Super Bowl wasn't really a good deed, it was a great way to end a long day with the Baltimore Ravens winning. I always took the Super Bowl to be a symbolic fight over my heart. Since I left Northern California (SF 49ers) 7 years ago, it has been really hard because I missed my friends and a familiar culture. I never felt at home in Georgia, Texas, or Tennessee, however here in Maryland I felt more love and companionship in the one year that I have been here, than all the years of Georgia, Texas and Tennessee combined. So Baltimore winning the Super Bowl was like it won a place in my heart: a place to call home. ♥