"S" Stands for Service ... by Eric

I admit it, I am spoiled!  As the youngest of 4 growing up, I took full advantage of being the baby.  I was my mom’s favorite AND my grandmother’s favorite.  That, combined with parents who were worn out by kid #4, created a situation all setup for a young selfish kid (aka me) to take full advantage, and I did.  I wasn’t a bad kid per se, I was just focused on myself and how things affected me. 
​
As I grew into adulthood, I would like to think things changed some, but that inward focus continued until I got married.  Then, I started to think about someone more than myself, but putting Catherine first was not something I always did.  It wasn’t really until I started doing ministry work that I really WANTED to change.  That change started because of my first mission trip.  For several years before the trip I was the “cool adult” (or so I thought) and got a lot of affirmation.  Little did I know that affirmation was setting me up for a much needed spiritual smackdown.  I had a terrible time; and thanks to that I was not the most pleasant person to be around.  At the end of the week I prayed with the woman who organized the trip, and she encouraged me not to give up on mission work but to really pray about why I had a terrible time.  Coincidentally, Catherine had a wonderful time and truly WAS the cool adult.

In the subsequent weeks God showed me what the issue was.  I went on that trip for myself, NOT to serve.  I was constantly looking for how I could be fed and how I could be affirmed.  What I missed was mission work is not about me, but about those we serve.  I really struggled with going the next year, but thanks to Cath I decided to go.  With a new attitude and no expectations, I had an amazing week that changed my life.  When I changed my focus outward versus inward, I found a joy and beauty I didn’t know was there.  In serving others, I found my own identity.  The week certainly was not without hardship and frustration, but I was able to put all that in perspective by focusing on the needs of others. 

That is the amazing thing about serving others, it is how we find our true selves.  The ultimate example of this is Christ on the cross.  Jesus’ full identity was not revealed until he served and saved all of humanity in His sacrifice.  When we serve others, we will certainly have those moments where we feel the cross, Jesus promised us this.  The rewards, however, are indescribable.  It is in service and following of Christ’s example we find our eternal life (Matt 16:24-25). 
 
So let’s go put the “S” in Service 410!  I know you can change the world and make it a better place!
 
In Christ,
Eric

"Love is a one-way street.  It always moves away from self in the direction of the other.  Love is the ultimate gift of our selves to others.  When we stop giving we stop loving, when we stop loving we stop growing, and unless we grow we will never attain personal fulfillment; we will never open out to receive the life of God.  It is through love we encounter God.”  (Where there is Love, there is God, p. 26) … St Theresa of Calcutta

---