Today in Relief Society the lesson was on service. To be completely honest with you this is something I struggle with. I mean, I serve my family willingly, I serve in my calling in church willingly, but I have such a hard time knowing who and how to serve besides that. Sometimes I think, well if I just had the money I would do this for someone, or if I had money I would buy someoneâs groceries, but I donât really âhave the moneyâ to do all that, and not having money is not a reason why we shouldnât serve someone.
I canât even tell you how much I know this is true. When my husband and I were struggling financially we had so much help through other people who really didnât even know we were struggling financially. I have a friend who I swear has a device to know exactly what I need when I need it. One day she came over with a thing of Mascara. That morning I had thrown mine away, but didnât have money to go buy another one. She said she bought the wrong color and had already opened it and used it once so she couldnât take it back. Not only had I just completely ran out of mascara, but the kind she had was the EXACT color and kind I use! I know that sounds silly, but it was truly a blessing to me and my face đ The same friend brought by 3 loaves of bread because they had gotten a whole bunch from someone and didnât need that many {We had no bread and our grocery budget was gone}, My husband was given odd jobs constantly that paid the bills and got us back on our feet until he found full time work. We had random gift cards given to us, and even a few anonymous checks show up in the mail. Having been the receiver of this service makes me want to reach out and help others.
I think sometimes I donât have enough confidence in myself or the act of service that comes into my mind. I have an idea come into my mind that I want to do for someone and then I think negative thoughts about me or the act of service, like âWhat if they donât like that kind of foodâ âWhat if they think I am a bad cookâ or âwhat if they think I am rude for thinking they need some helpâ and then I donât do it because I am afraid of what others might think.
Today during the lesson I got to thinking, am I nuts!? Who doesnât like to be served?!? I do, I love a helping hand, or a meal, or when someone offers to take my kids for an hour while I rest. I need to get over myself and get to work.
The Savior set the ultimate example of service. He teaches us in many of his sermons about how we can serve others and how important service is. He showed us every day of his life how to serve. If we want to be more like him, we need to learn to serve like him. Selflessly and willingly! It doesnât take much. It doesnât have to be a big â Ta Doâ It can be something as simple as a treat, a visit, a smile, pulling in their garbage, a hug, an invitation, a kind word, or a perhaps a meal. But whatever it is, donât be afraid to do it. Be confident in that feeling that it needs to be done and just go with it!
CaryManda says
Perfectly said. I have the same problem. I feel like my service should be …elaborate or something. I forget sometimes, that little things mean the most.
Thanks fro the reminder!
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Naomi says
I felt the same way! Still kind of do!! I try to make baby blankets and stuff from home that I can give later. I figure at least I am doing SOMETHING!
Thanks always for the wonderful post!
Vanessa says
This is such a great post! I have always felt like this is a weakness of mine as well. And yet, we have been blessed as a family so many times through service! I have those same feelings too. I think you are right though, that praying for opportunities will help and sometimes it is just a smile or something simple that we can give that makes all the difference!
Corine says
Oh gosh… you are so right, about it not taking much to do important service. Remember the story of the boy who offered to Christ, his small amoung of loaves and fish… with which Christ fed 5000 people? This is the cool thing; our small efforts, when consecrated to the Lord, can accomplish SO much (I wrote a small post about it a few days ago. You can read it if you want to. đŽ or not…)
Hugs…
Corine đ