Be a light to the world

Billy, one of the head people from Habitat gave us an inspirational talk this week. I had worked with Billy before and he was one of those people who just knows how to make you feel at ease. When we were raising the roof, Billy helped guide our efforts (as our house leader Ann was raising her first roof). One time, I did something wrong and Billy noticed. Billy comes over to correct me -- but how he did it was so impressive. Billy first confirmed my name and then thanked me for all the good things that I had done so far. Then, after making me feel good about myself, Billy kindly told me I was an idiot (he actually gave very sound advice in a constructive and polite way).

As you can tell, Billy has this incredible manner of dealing with people and so I was very interested in what Billy had to say. Now, Habitat for Humanity is a religious organization and most of you know I am not so religious. But Billy's message, while based on the bible, is universal to all of us. His simple message was -- don't complain and be a light to the world. It is based on a biblical passage that Billy referenced and I don't recall.

I personally don't like whiners. Life is tough for everyone, deal with it and move on. Whining is just an immature, selfish act to get attention. And there are so many reasons to complain when working at Habitat (see my first day post). So, Billy struck a cord. But he went on to talk about also being a light to the world. Inspiring the world with your attitude and joy. I liked the idea and walked away feeling motivated (as Billy does well).

As I walked away to my group, I saw Latetia -- the day one homeowner-to-be (see http://jim-miller.blogspot.com/2007/01/owwww.html). Latetia was wearing her green-paint stained jacket. I veered away from my team to talk to her. She gave me a great big hug -- like we had been friends for years and asked me how I had been. We talked for five minutes and again, I loved to hear her talk about her life and learning everything about how her house was being built (I hope her house is painted the green of her previously black coat!). I think I would whine about working my 350 hours to get my Habitat home (and worked with some people who did just that. But not Latetia -- she sees it as an opportunity to better herself.

Maybe Latetia complains sometimes, but I don't think so. I'll probably never see her again -- but she is a memorable person. She is, as Billy asked us to be, a light to the world.