I spent spring break working on a Habitat for Humanity house in Ohio through Catholic Student Ministry. I knew the trip would be challenging — the closest I had come to building a house prior to this experience was stacking sugar packets on restaurant tables. Despite the wonderful guidance of two men who work with Habitat, it was even more difficult than I anticipated.
As University students, we aren’t used to being bad at things. Hammering a nail? That sounds like no problem. Well, let me tell you, it is a problem — at least for me.
It took me about five tries to successfully hammer my first nail into a piece of wood. I must admit, it was incredibly frustrating. I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t doing anything productive, or that I was almost an inconvenience because of how much instruction I required. I had no idea building a house would be so emotionally taxing in addition to being physically challenging.
I was pretty tired by the end of the trip, and I was expecting to be rather run down first week back at school. But, to my pleasant surprise, after one good night’s sleep, I felt more rested than I had in a long time.
While service trips don’t generally offer a person physical rest, mine refreshed me in different ways.
Constructing a house was an exercise in humility for me. While being terrible at something was initially frustrating and made me want to quit, the experience ended up being renewing. Remembering that I am not perfect caused me to swallow my pride and work to improve.
Instead of being terrified of doing something wrong, I became motivated to do something right. Instead of worrying about where I was going next and how I was going to be in three places at once, as I tend to at the University, I was able to slow down and enjoy the company of my peers. Instead of being in an environment where we are all focused on our own schedules and needs, I was inspired by a community that was mutually supportive.
I also remembered to find joy in simple things. We don’t frequently have an opportunity to literally sit around a table and talk for hours on end. My fellow volunteers and I found joy in each other’s stories, in the delicious donut shop in the town and the kind people who welcomed us into their community.
Perhaps most significantly, I got to see beautiful friendships form, and incredible improvement in all of our hammering skills. We made all of the exterior walls for a house that is going to become a family’s home, and we had a ton of fun in the process. It was refreshing to know I was helping someone else in such a meaningful way.
Sometimes, a week of sleep isn’t what we need to rejuvenate ourselves for the weeks to come. Instead, what we may need is a reminder there is more to life than the tests that we have to take. Being exposed to so much love and joy has provided me with a much longer-lasting source of peace than I could have expected from my bed at home.
Kelly’s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.seegers@cavalierdaily.com.
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