Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Service, we're doing it wrong

So I’ve been noticing little things on Facebook and just in life about service, more importantly the lack thereof. Now I’m not saying I’m the best at this, I have room for improvement also, lots of room. What I want to talk about is not setting up big service projects that are at a convenient time and doing a relatively easy task but about the service that needs to happen when you happen to see a need for it. Now my parents are possibly the best examples of this I have seen. I can’t tell you how many times my mom has said well our plans changed now we’re helping this person do this, or how many times my dad has said lets go get some lunch after we’ve been working all morning but then sees someone else in need and we don’t end up eating lunch until 10 at night.
Recently when I was home I was weeding the ditches and the lawn and the window wells and the garden and someone that I know pretty well came over and was like hey Brittney is there anything we can make you guys for dinner? I replied no we don’t need any dinner and they continued on with chit-chat and I nicely told them that I needed to get back to weeding before it got too hot. That was their opportunity! Right there for service that someone NEEDED, the ditches needed to be clean for water and I was just one person trying to do it all.  
Recently we went on a hike and my friend was like' I feel like I should throw some extra water bottles in my pack' so he did and we went on our way. Well while we were on our hike we met some people from out of state who weren’t used to the dryness of Utah and they were completely out of water. Luckily we had a few extra water bottles and we discussed how far we were going and if we would be alright if we didn’t have that water and decided to give most of our water to these people, deciding that we would be fine for the duration of our trip without as much water. Yes it was hard to give water up in the middle of the desert, yes they should have been more prepared, and yes something could have happened and we could have needed that water but we gave it away anyway. Not because we wanted to, or because it was a convenient time for us but because we saw a need. Maybe that is what the extra water in our packs was for, but maybe it wasn’t. We did decide to turn back sooner than originally planed, maybe the water was for them, maybe it was for some unforeseen thing on the trail farther down. I don’t know, but I didn’t lose anything by turning around a little sooner than planned.
I’m guilty of not doing service because it wasn’t convenient for me, like the other week I saw someone walking that I’ve seen around my apartment complex but I didn’t want to take the time out of my day to ask if they needed a ride somewhere and chances are we were going to the same place! One day I was driving up the canyon and saw a family with a car that was overheating and I decided not to stop. I keep coolant in my car, and could have given them the rest of it, but I was being selfish, I wanted the coolant for me, I paid for it why should I give it away? They should have planned for their road trip right? Maybe so but it wouldn’t have hurt to stop and give them the coolant. I was almost home and I was going downhill, the chances that I was going to need it were slim, and I made it home without needing it!
Why do we pass up easy service? Why didn’t I want to stop and help these people? Simply I was being selfish, I had a plan and I didn’t want it to be interrupted. Boy am I glad that God is nicer than me, He is always there to help. He will ALWAYS stop to see if you are okay, He doesn’t plan big service projects on a convenient day at a convenient time, He is always there to serve you.
So here is my goal, go ahead and join me in it, next time I see that simple act of service, even if I know I’ll  

get turned down, I’m going to take the time out of my busy day and help the person in need in the way they need to be helped. 

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