coconut sprinkles, chocolate pudding, and a buffet of service opportunities

Written by Amy L. Sullivan

SERVE Editor Word lover. Book devourer. Music addict. Amy is a Northern girl who found herself living in the South. She drinks sweet tea, turns her nose up at okra, and attempts to tell her daughters "yella" isn't a color.

November 15, 2012

When I was a child, Shoney’s Buffet was a big deal. Where else could you get a sundae bar, slabs of roast beef, and apple fritters all under one roof?

The endless opportunities Shoney’s offered were a child’s dream, and no one took advantage of the goodness Shoney’s provided more than my youngest sister, Sarah Rose. Upon entering the large buffet line, Sarah Rose grabbed a warm plate and scampered over to the chocolate pudding. She followed the pudding up with a mound of coconut sprinkles. Then, Sarah Rose left a tiny triangle of plate space available for “healthy food” aka instant mashed potatoes.

Sarah Rose’s meals were always similar and included things she loved, but her meals left her feeling really full and a little sick, but in a weird way still hungry.

Odd.

Endless food choices awaited her, but Sarah Rose’s scattered eating and gobble a little of this and a little of that policy left her unfulfilled.

Today, combine social media with hundreds of thousands of service opportunities available to us and you have a service version of Shoney’s Buffet.

The plus side to this is we can get involved in just about anything.

If you want to help orphans, no problem.

If you want to work to end human trafficking, no problem.

Do you desire clean water for all? No problem.

What about building a school? No problem.

The downside of this is like Sarah Rose, we often gobble a little of this and a little of that, and we are left unfulfilled. We jump at service opportunities (because initially they sound fun), but we don’t fully involve ourselves, our hearts, or our finances in commitment to a cause.

My advice? Pray, pray, pray and see where God leads you to spend your time and money. My guess is He isn’t interested in a lifetime of sampling, but He instead wants you to invest.

photo credit.

6 Comments

  1. Lisa Van Engen

    Great reminder! Invest! You want to give all your heart when you serve and choose the things that make your heart beat quicken. {by the way I was an instant potato, dessert kid too}

    Reply
    • Amy L. Sullivan

      Lisa, Instant potatoes and desserts. That’s the stuff dreams are made of…thanks for reading.

      Reply
  2. Lori McClure

    Aw, Shoney’s. Reminds me of my Joliet waitressing days 🙂 Great analogy. I get so overwhelmed by all that is out there, but what I can do? Pray. Thanks for the reminder to be an invester instead of a sampler.

    Reply
    • Amy L. Sullivan

      Shoney’s is so Midwest, isn’t it? Such a treat when we were younger, but yes, I get overwhelmed by the choices too.

      Reply
  3. Loraine Erickson

    My guess is He isn’t interested in a lifetime of sampling, but He instead wants you to invest. Wowzers…great quote!!!

    Reply

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coconut sprinkles, chocolate pudding, and a buffet of service opportunities

by Amy L. Sullivan time to read: 2 min
6