Tag Archives: One Heart Many Hands

Poison=Man Arm

Posted on by

One arm merely turned rosy and splotchy, but the other arm doubled in size. My teenage daughter looked like she had sprouted an overweight man’s arm. Disturbing. By the next day, her face and much of her body was swollen, red, and scaly. She could not stop scratching and wanted to hibernate from the world.

What caused her outbreak? Our team was finishing a rewarding week serving with One Heart Many Hands. My hard-working girl was painting the cement foundation of a house. She tore out some weeds that were in the way, and then paused to pet the cat that seemed to be inspecting her work.

When her team left the job site for the day, she started scratching her arm. She assumed petting the cat made her itch, so she washed her hands. More scratching. She took allergy medicine and smeared anti-itch cream over her arms. It didn’t help. Next thing you knew, she had a man arm.

Several other people at her job site started scratching. You probably already guessed the culprit. The weeds turned out to be poison ivy. My daughter, who had never run into the pesky weed before, is allergic to it. Great.

One of my friends gave me a tube of Zanfel to wash the urushiol from my daughter’s skin (and from my own because it got on me when I was helping her). Oh, blessed relief. A doctor then prescribed steroids for my poor girl. After four days, her arm almost looks like it belongs to her.

I’m trying to make something good come out of our ivy battle, so here are the practical lessons we learned:

  1. Be able to actually identify poison ivy, sumac, and oak.
  2. Know how to treat it immediately (I’m not a Zanfel commercial but it really helped) so the poison doesn’t get into your blood stream (especially if you are allergic).

And here’s how I can apply it to life: Negative thoughts can be just as poisonous as poison ivy. If we don’t tame them right away, they can fester and infect our entire way of thinking. In a previous blog about stinking thinking (http://www.tamibrumbaugh.com/?p=547) I mentioned a scripture that helps me fight off negative thoughts. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV). I also shared my plan to fight the stinking thinking: A negative thought pops into my head. I realize it, grab it, and tell myself to be done with it. I then pump in positive thoughts.

So no more poison, physical or mental. And please no more man arms.

Independence

Posted on by

Independence Day usually makes me think about flags waving, fireworks, barbecue, and homemade pretzels (our family tradition). After just getting back from serving with One Heart Many Hands, my thoughts have drifted onto an independence tangent. Why? Because we were with teens. Nearly one hundred of them. Day and night. For seven days straight.

You may wonder whatever possessed us to go on an adventure with teens. If you met my husband, you might understand part of his motivation. He’s a big kid at heart and loves the opportunity to act wild and crazy and be applauded for it. He’s quite the entertainer. I’m better in small groups or one on one or behind the scenes. Regardless of personality type, both of us know teens are at a crucial stage of development.

The teens in our group ranged in age from 12 to 18. It was fascinating to see where each student was in the quest for independence. Some had never been away from parents for an extended period of time, while others had been on many expeditions without family and were prepared to leave for college in the fall.

The service experience helped all of them explore the type of person they could become. They were thrust out of their comfort zone, giving up private rooms and hours to escape into the internet. Their eyes were focused on the needs of others. They saw poverty and felt the actual rotting wood and crumbling cement of decaying homes. They actively helped make living conditions better for people they just met. They learned to work even when they were tired, bruised, or itching from poison ivy. They discovered how it felt to be a productive member of society. An added bonus of being part of One Heart Many Hands was that they saw a ripple effect where their small effort fed into a flood of kindness from people all over the United States.

I’m proud our country declared independence back in 1776. I’m also proud that we have teens exploring their independence in positive ways. Instead of complaining about the direction teens are headed, let’s keep providing them with opportunities to develop into compassionate, hard-working adults.

Many Hands

Posted on by

A decaying garage, piles of trash, and unruly trees towered over our team. After a long day of traveling by bus, we were eager to get to work, but this was a daunting task. We only had four days to get the job done.

A sweet man with a gray and white beard greeted us. He studied my husband and me and our small team of twelve teens. “I appreciate any help you can give, even if you can’t tear the whole garage down.”

We peaked inside the garage. It was full of rusted tools, broken lamps, discarded cook books, a guinea pig cage, and other forgotten items. Our new friend didn’t want to keep any of it. The dumpster hadn’t arrived yet, so we piled everything into a heap beside the garage. The teens all took turns pounding on the walls with sledge hammers, breaking off siding. Before we knew it, the garage tumbled to the ground.

Once the dumpster arrived, our team worked together to pull apart the garage and toss the wood, shingles, and discarded objects inside. We worked through a rain storm and ignored sore muscles. After less than two days, the garage was gone. The trash was gone. The trees were chopped. We were able to do bonus assignments on other houses in the neighborhood.

Our group of fourteen easily completed a task that was overwhelming for our friend. And get this—we actually had 102 teens and adults just from our church serving throughout the neighborhood at the same time. It gets even better. We were just a small part of One Heart Many Hands (https://oneheartmanyhands.com/). There were actually over 1,500 people serving in Indianapolis that week. Talk about making a difference!

One lesson I learned through it all, is that we don’t have to do it alone. Sometimes our journey through life will seem overwhelming, but we can lift each other up. An impossible situation can become manageable with the help of others. It’s okay to ask for help, and it feels wonderful to help people in need.

The teens from our group watched High School Musical on the drive home. Many of us groaned when it started playing, yet sat and watched it all. Now I have the lyrics from the final song stuck in my head: we’re all in this together.

So bring it on. With many hands, we can get it done.