Joy, a dear friend, shared a story with me when I really needed it. I have been sitting with it for some time now. It has nourished me on a number of occasions. It reminds me to meet challenges and do service one day at a time, sometimes one breath at a time.

It seems fitting to share this story with you today, our National Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Here’s what Joy told me.

“Annie Mae Bankhead was a community organizer in one of the poorest areas of Little Rock. A place ‘out by the airport’ called College Station. Once I heard her describe a way of coping with community organizing without being overwhelmed. She advised picking one problem, not ALL of the problems, to work on first. And once that problem was solved, you would think of it as a single pearl, to be strung on a necklace. She said if you were a successful community organizer you would be stringing one pearl at a time, and before too long you would have a long, beautiful strand of pearls… That ‘one day at a time’ is a lot like one pearl (or problem) at a time. Not to bite off more than you can chew. One day at a time– add a pearl– and soon you’ll have a beautiful strand. And if you falter and lose your strand, a single pearl (or day) on your necklace is still a BEAUTIFUL and brave thing.”

This morning, I’m feeling deep gratitude for the service of others, especially those in the Civil Rights movement and the Labor movement, healthcare and environmental activists, artists and our 12 Step founders.

Today, I’m doing service by staying abstinent. In my Quiet Time this morning, I’ll sit with the question about what else I can do this week to serve others. Some of my favorite local organizations are:

• YWCA of the National Capital Area – eliminating racism and empowering women
• Sidran Institute – helping people understand, manage and treat trauma and disassociation
• Mid-County United Ministries (MUM) – helping people in crisis with food, medicine, eviction prevention and utilities
• Crossway Community – reducing poverty and creating social change
• A Wider Circle – a unique holistic approach to ending poverty
• FA Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous – a fellowship of individuals who help one another recover from addiction through shared experience and mutual support

Thank you, all, for your service.

Love & Light,

Valerie

More about Annie Mae Bankhead (December 16, 1904 – January 28, 1989): She was born in Mississippi, and moved with her parents in 1926 to College Station, Arkansas, a small community southeast of Little Rock. She devoted her life to improving the community, organizing the first Young People’s Church Club and helping to register voters. In the 1960’s, she organized the Progressive League of College Station, for city utilities into the community. She also organized and promoted the Head Start program for preschoolers, represented Arkansas in 1966 on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty Advisory Committee. She helped establish a credit union, health clinic and the YMCA in College Station. She served as a member of the Arkansas Electoral College to cast a vote for Jimmy Carter for president.

She received many rewards during her life among them: Woman of Conscience Award from the National Council of Women of the United States; the National Brotherhood and Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews; and the Distinguished Citizen’s Award from the Governor’s Office of Volunteerism and KARK-TV, Channel 4; the Human Interest Award from the Jefferson Comprehensive Care Center Inc.; named Woman of the Year in 1971 by the Arkansas Democrat; named Senior Peacemaker of Arkansas by the Arkansas Peace Center in 1984.

She did it all one pearl at a time.