“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve.”

This quote is from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It reminds us that we can each be a powerful force for good. While maybe not his most famous quote, this quote from Dr. King speaks to the deep but simple humanity in us all.

And is the quote most often used in January.

In 1983, President Ronald Resgan signed into law a federal holiday in honor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If you were not aware, Dr. King was the primary spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement. Moreover, Dr. King was a man of God and a believer in the power of people with a shared purpose.

This federal holiday, while having its share of controversy, also became one of the best known altruistic and philanthropic days in this country. The federal holiday became the “Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service” through the efforts of former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis. The proposed legislation aimed to encourage Americans to find “common causes” to improve their communities. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed this legislation into law, transforming a federal holiday (a day off, for most) into a day of citizen action and volunteer service (a day on).

Across the nation, communities come together on this day through service projects: community cleanups, beautification projects, food drives, clothing drives, and the like. The idea is simple: we can build strong communities together.

If you have been considering ways to get involved in this community, now would be an easy time. Civic clubs, government offices, churches, and school organizations all offer an abundance of ways to serve on this January day. One need only seek out an opportunity.

But that’s just it, isn’t it? You have to seek out the opportunity. You have to commit to doing it, going there, volunteering. There is action in that, there is planning required. If you were going to clean up a historic cemetery, you have to know where to go and have the right equipment. If you were going to help at the food pantry or homeless shelter, you would have to know what the needs are. If you were going to help with beautification or a roadside clean up, you would need supplies. Luckily, our community has a long standing history of service and opportunities abound. (For a list of community events on MLK Day, please see the Community Calendar of this newspaper.)

But participating in organized service is not the only way to serve. Sometimes opportunities present themselves in the most unusual circumstances. But we must be ready to meet them with, as Dr. King says, “a heart full of grace [and] a soul generated by love.”

An older gentleman in the community recently shared a story that demonstrates this point and, with his permission, is conveyed here:

I was recently having lunch by myself at a local fast food restaurant. It was a weekday and a little later than the usual lunch rush time so there was only one other person in the restaurant with me. As I enjoyed my meal, I noticed a younger, somewhat disheveled man ride up on a bicycle, which I thought was unusual since it was so cold that day. He entered the restaurant, went into the restroom, and then, when he came out, looked for a place to sit. He sat down a few booths away from me, facing me and, as I ate my lunch, I noticed him watching me. Not staring, not being rude, just periodically looking at me like he was checking on me. As I was finishing up, he got up and walked past my booth to the condiment station to get a single napkin and then returned to his booth. He took something out of his backpack and wrote on the napkin.

He sat there for a while before approaching my booth and then handed me the napkin where he had written a simple note. [pictured here] I read the note and I told him that, as soon as I was finished eating, I would be glad to buy him lunch. We went to the counter and I asked him what he wanted. He asked what I was willing to pay for and I told him that he could order anything he wanted off the menu. Which he did. I got the sense that he was ordering for both his lunch and dinner in that one meal.

He graciously thanked me multiple times. I asked if I could keep the note and he said yes. I suggested that he not give up hope, encouraged him to trust in the Lord, and told him to continue to ask for help when he needed it. He again thanked me and we parted our ways.

I don’t know his circumstances. I don’t know if he had worked up his last nerve to come there and ask for help. I don’t even know his name. But I do know that I had the power to help someone that day and I did. It cost me less than 15 dollars and 15 minutes to truly help another person.

Another quote from Dr. King: “Life’s persistent and most urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Too easily can we think that this January holiday is a welcome three-day weekend. Or that service is what “other people” do. Or that you haven’t found the right organization to join. Or that we don’t have enough money, time, or talents to help. These are merely excuses we give when we fail to recognize our own power to do good in each other’s lives.

In the end, that is the crux of it all. We can have a great impact on the lives of others. Treat your neighbors as your friends, treat strangers as you would want to be treated, treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Each and every one of us can “be great” in our own way, any day, by choosing to serve our fellow man - our neighbors, our friends, and our family. We just need to ask ourselves “what are we doing for others?”

Hosanna Fletcher believes in the power of community and has worked in nonprofits, government, and for-profits serving the community for the last 20 years. She is a full-time faculty member at Georgia State University teaching on the Newton campus and online. She also works with the Giving Hands Food Pantry on Community Outreach. To reach Hosanna about volunteering with or donating to the Food Pantry, please email community@covingtonfirst.org.