03 May Not Grow Weary

“Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”  -Isaiah 40:30-31

Whenever I think and talk about Frank and Lottie Lewis, I wonder, “How long can they keep this up?”

I spent a few days in Allendale over spring break, with one of my sons, and with 2 other dads and their sons. I don’t know how much of an impact we made, but there is no doubt that this Allendale trip changed us.

We had the pleasure of working with Frank, helping him plant a community garden. Frank, and his wife, Lottie, were two of the very first people my wife and I met in Allendale, just a month before I started working in that community. We sat in their home in December 2010, as we began a journey of learning about this community.

Frank, and his wife, Lottie, were two of the very first people my wife and I met in Allendale, just a month before I started working in that community.

I don’t remember much of what they said then. In fact, I don’t remember Frank saying much that morning as we drank coffee, as his wife and another resident taught us the challenges that community faced, as well as the strengths it contained.

Over the next few years, I had dozens of conversations with Ms. Lottie, but relatively few with Mr. Frank. It wasn’t that we didn’t enjoy each other, but our paths so rarely crossed. We were both busy getting things done.

Now that I spend a brief two days with him — planting in his community garden and sprucing up the Pink Garden — I realize how much I missed out on. I look back, and realize I had a wealth of knowledge to gain from him, and a plethora of energy and love that he would have shared with me.

The main reason we didn’t cross paths and talk so much is that he was always accomplishing tasks. He was a get-it-done kind of guy, a perfect fit for his wife who has a heart, vision, and hope for Allendale.

Frank is not the guy who will tell you everything he knows, or all that he’s done, unless you press him. He has time to talk, but not about himself. He’ll tell you about how great his wife is (even if she gives him a never-ending to-do list). He tells you about the great people in his neighborhood, and about the senior citizens (not including himself) who need the vegetables in the community garden.

He won’t put on Facebook (hey, he’s still got a flip phone) that he’s single-handedly built dozens of wheelchair ramps in Allendale, free of charge. He won’t blog about how many hours he puts in at the vegetable garden and Pink Garden. He won’t Instagram pictures of the community house (to be used for after school programs and hosting out of town volunteers) that he’s been fixing up over the past 2 years, and which is nearly complete.

I will accomplish a fraction of what Frank does, and then spend time and energy letting others know.

Now, I am the complete opposite. I will accomplish a fraction of what Frank does, and then spend time and energy letting others know. Sure, some of that communication is to spur others on, and to promote opportunities for others to get involved. But a bunch of my talking is my desire for value and status.

My striving wears me out, and yet Frank seems more energized every time I see him. I often grow weary and discouraged, and yet this man’s faith is evident, as he draws his strength and love from God.

What’s my take-away from our recent trip from Allendale? I mostly took away questions:

• Is there more I need to do here in Greenville? Where is my family most needed?
• What do I need to say “no” to, to free up my time and energy for the sake of relationships?
• Why didn’t I spend more time with Frank when I lived in Allendale?
• Even more, why didn’t I get more teenage and pre-teen boys (my son included) to spend time with Frank, to sit under his mentorship?
• How long can Frank (age 75) and Lottie (if I knew her age, I wouldn’t tell you) keep up their laboring of love?

But if there is one positive thing that I left with, it’s that I am encouraged and inspired by a man who loves his God, his wife, and his community so much that he puts his head down and works without recognition or thanks — day after day, year after year.

“Gospel-motivated works do for the soul what food does for the body. They bring refreshment, enjoyment, blessing, and strengthening to the doer of the deeds, even more so than to the receiver.” ~Milton Vincent

-Joey Espinosa

Interested in helping out in Allendale, SC? You can join us on May 21st!