To the Editor:
    Webster described gratitude as “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful!"
    In our Sunday School lesson on Sunday we talked about recognizing true authority. The gist of the lesson is that God chose Moses to speak for the people Israel to ask Pharaoh to let the people go. He came up with all kinds of excuses as to why he was not the best choice. When Moses spoke to Pharaoh and the situation of the people was made more difficult, there was a lot  of moaning, groaning and complaining.
    I equate this to my volunteer experience over the past weekend.  This past weekend, I was asked to volunteer with the Action, Inc., for their commodity distribution. Growing up in Madison, I knew quite a few of the people that were serviced through the commodity distribution. I have to say that it hurt my heart after hearing some of the comments made about such a gesture of kindness. On Saturday, I was stopped by someone to complain about standing in line for over two hours. I informed the person that I had been told that the distribution would not start until 10 a.m. I asked if she had been told the same time. This was only the first of many complaints. After working on Saturday, I told my church on Sunday morning about the gesture and many of them expressed that they wished that such an event could be sponsored here in Newton County. My Sunday School class is a group of ladies ranging in age from 19 to 55 and they and my church as a whole all felt that this was an ultimate act of kindness in times such as these. 
    Let me say that there were many who were very grateful and appreciative and they verbalized their gratitude!
    But for others, such an act of kindness solicited comments such as “I didn’t get my can of tuna…I didn’t get my can of juice…I didn’t get my rice." MY being the operative word. Let me say to the people who didn’t get what they believed they should have... "No one is entitled." I work with mental health in Newton and Rockdale counties and I talk to people on a daily basis who have no home, who have no food. They would have been more than grateful to just have gotten one chicken not to mention that you all got four chickens along with vegetables, fruits and a host of other supplies. Many of you got enough food to last about a month for absolutely no charge. Even those of us who have decent jobs would have been happy to have gotten just a small bit of what you all got for FREE! In these times, everybody is struggling!
    One fact that you may not have know is that Daisy Benford actually had to beg for this grant this year as she was not suppose to get it for two years in a row. This event provided 412 families with enough food to last about a month…if you are missing a particular item, get on your knees and thank God for the other items that you did get! Oh and while you're there, say a prayer for those of us who worked in the hot, humid temperature for hours on end to help make this event possible.
    My prayer is that God will move and exist in you all, so that you can follow His will and not be blind to the call placed on someone else’s life. As we are all gifted differently, let us learn to respect the skills of others as we earn respect in God’s work.  Let us be humble in our walks, following the example that Christ has given us.
Johnnie C. Hardy
Oxford, Ga.
Via e-mail