Al's Outreach Outtakes

Where has the summer gone? I can tell you mine has been busier than ever. If you read last week’s column, you know that there have been various projects at the Food Closet as we continue to deal with the virus. We are still serving many families and expect to do so going forward. Hence, all the projects.
 
We also started working with Beaverton Foursquare to distribute 1,000+ Farm to Family food boxes each Thursday. While we have, for the most part, all of the bugs worked out of it, time and energy are still required. Gratefully this program continues into the fall and hopefully winter.
 
This summer I, and others from the community, began the process of launching a new non-profit aimed at helping those dealing with various forms of economic instability. Called the Beaverton Resource Center, we hope to have it running virtually in November. I will provide more information about it in a future column, so please keep reading!
 
Finally, on a personal note, I have been working with my son to build a series of decks at his house. While many weekends, including the recent very hot ones, have gone into them, the physicality and use of hands and mind combined with the time spent with him and my grandson have been extremely enjoyable.
 
All of this left very little down time so when, a few weeks ago, my wife Cathie and I had a chance to just sit on our patio one evening and enjoy a glass of wine I could not help but notice the beautiful dahlia in our garden. It reminded me that even when things are so hectic; when dealing with a pandemic and kids returning to school; when you think you just need a break; God is there surrounding us with calm and beauty. Sometimes we just need to slow down long enough to look or listen.