What’s pouring out of your heart today? Pastor John Pierce is Community Center Director of the Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church Growing up, my mom used to say, “What comes out of the mouth comes from the heart.” This reminder usually came following a moment when I said something that was not very edifying to others. As I grew older, I realized this statement is more than often true. When a person speaks out of anger, lashes out, or hurts others with their words, there is usually a deeperrooted issue at hand. It’s what I tend to call a “heart condition.” Over the last year, there have undoubtedly been times when each of us have more than likely needed to check our own “heart condition.” I know the pandemic has challenged us. Any time our lives change drastically, challenge is inevitable! So, even the little things tend to upset us. Now, the opposite is also true— when I hear a person speak kind, uplifting words, it’s usually a sign their heart is in a good place. In the last eleven months, I’ve seen so many people giving back to our community, serving with their time and finances. It’s inspiring to watch people pour out their hearts for the needs of others. I believe it’s a sign our community has a good heart condition! Now is not the time for us to stop, though. There are so many who are isolated and lonely, jobs that have been lost, a loved one who is no longer there, others who are trying to figure out how to understand (let alone assist our children) in virtual school lessons. There is so much need right here in our local community. You may be in a place right now where you don’t feel like being encouraging. I understand. It’s difficult, at times, for me as well. When I’m working on my heart condition, I find meditating on things, which are admirable, pure, lovely, excellent, or praiseworthy often changes my perspective. What a difference we could make if we decided to live by these virtues! And when I do, almost always, I find I love a little better. I’m a little more joyful. Peace seems to be evident in my life. I’m more patient with and kind to others. I choose goodness. All of this leads to a healthy heart condition! So what’s pouring out of your heart today? Covid convinced me to support everything local “We are living in interesting times”. This was a quote that I heard in a movie and I think it is very appropriate to describe what we are living through today. This pandemic that we are experiencing is creating a new normal. With many of our small businesses closing and the job losses that it has created and the mental stress that many of our citizens are going through, it is time for us to pour our hearts out and do what we can for our community, which includes people who live in our community but their business may be just outside of Reynoldsburg. I include these people because they also live here and bring a lot to community. Reynoldsburg is one of the fastest growing cities in the state if not the nation. People are starting to realize that our city has many of the things that they are looking for when it comes to their quality of life. We are a Reynoldsburg Magazine • Spring, 2021 Buddy White is a local businessman and is head football coach of the Reynoldsburg Raiders. great community because so many people take great pride in what this community has to offer. During these difficult times, I have had an opportunity to reflect on how I can pour my heart out to keep our community strong. One of the things that came to mind is where I spend my money. For example, where am I buying my gas, where do I buy my groceries, where do I dine, where do I get my drycleaning done, etc. I came to the conclusion that many of the goods and services that I require can be fulfilled by dealing with Reynoldsburg businesses and business owners who live in Reynoldsburg. I also looked at the money that I spend on a weekly and monthly basis. I realized that if I spend the bulk of that money in our community and if other people made the same commitment, it could have a major impact on our local businesses. Being a local businessman myself, I started thinking about ways that my business can give more. I consulted with my corporate sponsor, State Farm Insurance, on ways that my business can contribute. They agreed to support a financial contribution to a non-profit organization of my choice. I decided to give to the HEART Food Market because of the large number of people that they serve. I would challenge other businesses in our community who has large corporate sponsors to look into what they may be willing to do to help those that are in need in our city. Obviously, there are many more things that we can do for our community and many people are already doing them. We will adjust to this new normal because we have done it before and will be forced to do it again. Being a football coach for over 30 years, I understand how important it is to come together for a common cause. Let’s pour our hearts out to keep Reynoldsburg a strong and vibrant city. 19
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