A Heart to Serve

The good Lord has blessed me with a heart to serve. It's simple. I want to help other people.

I've worked in the non-profit sector since I graduated from college. For the most part, I've had a very pleasant experience, and I've learned a whole lot about how different people are in the process.

The hardest lesson I've learned/am still trying to learn is some people don't have a servant's heart. They don't see helping people as a priority, unless it benefits them in some way.

My soft heart has been callused in more ways than one in my 25 years on this earth. But I try to be open to other people's perspectives and plights outside of my own.

My favorite definition of to serve is to be useful.

To be useful.

Because if you're not being useful, you are being useless. And that's not how I want to live my life. Useless.

I've recently been struggling with my purpose. The Father's purpose for me.

And over the course of the last few months, I've seen His work come to life all around me. I've been freely giving of myself and my time to this and that, and I've taken hits from all sides. I've heard it all.

"You can't do that."

"It will never work."

"People won't participate."

"It's never been done that way before."

"Why do you even try?"

And I've asked myself at various times why am I doing this. The answer is always the same.

He put me here to do good works. To give of myself and my time freely. To love people because they haven't been loved on in a while. To serve. To be useful. Despite all the backlash and speed bumps. He will make me useful for His purpose.

Does that make me perfect and free of frustration? Absolutely not. I'm constantly frustrated by people and things that are out of my control. But I'm also constantly reminded that He is in control. He knows the outcome and worrying about it is absolutely pointless.

About a week ago I was in a moment of self-doubt, and my daily devotional said this:

I'm leading you, step by step, through your life. Hold My hand in trusting dependence, letting Me guide you through this day. Your future looks uncertain and feels flimsy - even precarious. That is how it should be. Secret things belong to the Lord, and future things are secret things. When you try to figure out the future, you are grasping at things that are Mine. This, like all forms of worry, is an act of rebellion: doubting My promises to care for you. 

Whenever you find yourself worrying about the future, repent and return to Me. I will show you the next step forward, and the one after that, and the one after that. Relax and enjoy the journey in My Presence, trusting Me to open up the way before you as you go. - Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

I've been wanting to write about this for a while, but I struggled to find the words to say it. Whether you know you have a Servant's Heart or not, I challenge you to be useful and serve. And try to be mindful of other people who are serving.

It's not rocket science; it's love.

Love people.

Awesome Things Happen

Three really awesome things happened yesterday while I was in Little Rock.

1. Anthropologie's Sale room is my new favorite place on earth. While I was a little upset that the store's regular priced items were WAY out of my price range, the sale room proved to be a hit. I got a sweet pair of black ankle dress pants and two beautiful silk dress shirts. AMAZING. I was like a kid in a candy store. Anthropologie also has the BEST dishes and houseware items I have seen in a while. I use to be obsessed with anything from Pier 1, but now my home items will be coming from Anthropologie.
2. When I was leaving Target yesterday, I saw quite a sight. The parking lot of the Target on University has a lot of weird curves and stop signs. A Mammaw in a Buick was in front of me. She seemed to be having a tough time remembering the rules of the road because she stopped at the parking lot stop sign for at least 1 full minute. She proceeded to turn right to take her to the part of the parking lot that leads to the main road. She putted along, and when she got to the stop light that connected the parking lot to the main road she got in the left turn lane. The light was red. And she turned. Straight up ran that red light. I was sitting in the right lane waiting for my right on red opportunity, and this little old lady just tootled on out into oncoming traffic. It made me chuckle since nothing bad happened. Very bold move.
3. I had to work yesterday afternoon. I went to one of the Little Rock schools and interviewed some of the kids because they are sponsoring a child in Honduras. Sponsored kids sponsoring a kid is too good to pass up. So I talked to three kids, one third grader and two fifth graders. Kids say the best things. And when a kid talks about helping another kid, it really is too good. I talked to a little Hispanic girl in the fifth grade. She speaks Spanish at home with her parents and English at school. I had a letter from the boy in Honduras. I showed the letter to the little girl, and she read it aloud in Spanish. I was so moved. To watch her speak fluent Spanish, make connections and laugh at some of the things the little boy wrote really got to me. She was so absorbed in what he wrote. And she completely understood what he was talking about because it was a letter from a sponsor child to another sponsored child. She understood his struggles and his thankfulness. It was very eye opening.

Awesome things happen. Funny things. Unexpected things. Wonderful things. What kind of awesome things have you witnessed this week? Feel free to tell me about it. I would love to hear it.

Until next time...