**Title per recommendation of my teammate, Catherine Bealle**
A few weeks ago I had a great conversation with one of my mentors and good friends, Bry. I told her how my favorite ways to serve and love others well would be either acts of service or gifts, but more specifically acts of service in the form of doing something for someone and being able to make it a surprise. Now, if you were to ask me directly to do something, that takes the fun out of it, at which point in my sinful, selfish desires I feel much less inclined to do it. I love being able to surprise people with random little acts of service that can help make their day that much better, even if I’ve only done a simple chore for them or something similar. Just a little thing here or there that’s one less thing for them to do.
And, even in just typing that out and reading it back, is ridiculous, haha. Serving is just serving! But the way I view it and pick and choose how service is validated isn’t actually how it be. In reality, you’re still helping someone, even if you don’t get the same excitement out of it as you would prefer. Plus, if it’s to benefit the kingdom, does it really matter if it’s in the way you’d want it to be? Nah.
So here’s the thing I’ve learned: Acts of service is a wonderful way to serve, and also just so happens to be my favorite way to do so. The differnce now? I’ve learned to love it, even when it’s asked directly of me (in which in the past I would have allowed to steal joy from me). Helping someone is still helping someone, even if it’s not as secret and suprising as you’d wanted it to be. Plus, some people really do struggle with asking others for help, which is another thing I’ve learned and also grown to respect when someone comes to me for help.
All in all, it’s probably a very simple revelation. But, something I still enjoyed discovering and growing in. There’s always room to grow and learn, and I never want to get to the point where I (think) I know it all. When you serve, don’t do it for yourself, what you can gain, or anything other than for the glory of God and His Kingdom. That’s the true way to have a joyful heart within service, when you know who it’s really for, which is my little revelation this week: Serve always, simply for the return of benefiting His Kingdom.
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward. It is the LORD Christ you are serving.
