Who’s Scooping the …?

Donna Hostetler, October 19, 2015

As I drove into the park a couple of weeks ago, I thought this sign was very interesting. No horses allowed. I’ve never seen a sign like this. Hmmm. They’re beautiful animals and one of my best friends, Jayne, taught me a lot about these intelligent creatures and how they interact with each other and humans.

But over the weekend, a horse with its owner was apparently trotting down the street at the corner of my street and left a serious poop (excuse me!) deposit. I realized as I turned the corner that I must navigate to avoid the pile. For two days I did the same thing, knowing that in a matter of time I would likely drive through this and into my driveway with the remains. I also realized that NO ONE was going to scoop up the pile. So, taking matters into my own hands shovel, I moved the poop into the woods by the street. My husband wondered the next day who would have taken care of such—I told him I did, much to his surprise. He suggested thanking me with a trip for yogurt!

As I said horses are beautiful animals but occasionally they can spoil the parade with a pile. Someone has to manage clean-up. (And NO ONE at the park wants to do that–can’t blame them :)

And the ministry is a great calling, but today I was thinking about all of the mundane tasks support ministry staff often face. Managing the calendar and database entries, gathering numerous supplies from sundry locations, planning meetings, cleaning the coffee pot or removing the student party trash, changing the bulletin boards, sorting the curriculum, filling in for a last minute no-show volunteer, and the list goes on. I’m not suggesting this is comparable to scooping the pile, it’s just necessary ongoing tasks and sometimes without much thanks.

Do your paid team members feel appreciated for the mundane as well as the big events?  How do you celebrate or offer appreciation during the year to your team?