"Are you just there sometimes?"

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A friend of mine shared a story with me about traveling to Bay St. Louis on the coast of Mississippi to repair homes ravaged some two years ago by hurricanes. It was raining on their first work day so they couldn’t do any of their assigned work like preparing and painting the exterior of a home. So they did what we all do when we go to the beach and it’s raining—they went to Wal-Mart.

They passed by the greeter as they left the store and she stopped the entire group. She started crying as she said, "Thank you so very much for what you’re doing in our community." My friend and the rest of the group were wearing T-shirts given to them by the sponsors of the trip.

My friend sheepishly explained that they hadn’t really done anything yet due to the rain. The greeter insisted on thanking them anyway, just for being there, not for what they had accomplished, but simply for their presence and what they were going to do the rest of the week. They were there, and that brought this woman hope.

It’s not always what you do. Sometimes it’s just about being there.

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