Serving Is Always Worth It
People are messy, so serving is messy. But serving is Always worth it!
By: Elizabeth Fambrough, PERIMETER SCHOOL MoM
The first Service Project Day of this school year, our serving location changed three times within 24 hours of when we were scheduled to arrive at our serving location. For my fellow type A planners out there, I’m sure that made your eye start to twitch. Thankfully, I wasn’t leading this project, but if I was, I would be fully dependent on the Lord for it. And goodness, did He show up!
The faithfully hardworking ladies in Community Outreach realized that two of the serving locations had the exact same name but completely different locations and outreaches. Once the mix-up was realized, our class was assigned to the correct organization, but unfortunately, they could no longer accommodate us. Again, eye twitch. Our sweet fifth grade class was reassigned to a thrift store in Cumming that supports a men’s homeless shelter. This was a new partner organization to serve, and we were blazing the trail.
In the six years we that we have been at Perimeter School and served on service projects, this project was by far my favorite.
Every morning the employees at the thrift store have a devotional before the store opens, and we had the privilege to experience it! Lots of God stories were shared between the students and the employees, and several of our male students read Scripture and led our group in prayer. It was a sweet time, followed by lots of organizing and clean-up tasks. I know everyone loved diving in to help.
WHY We Serve
So why does our school set aside three days a year to serve our community? I know we can all come up with many different textbook answers for this . . . but the main one is Jesus. He was the ultimate servant, and He demonstrated this in His dying love for us.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
“For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? But I am among you as the one who serves.” (Luke 22:27)
We are teaching our kids how to be like Jesus on these days. But we’re also teaching our kids what it means to “die to self.”
Serving is worth it
A dear friend of mine loves serving, and we’ve had some long discussions on the subject. She’s been in some deep valleys (haven’t we all?), and she’s found that serving others while in her valley is lifesaving.
She told me, “Service to others really is a tangible solution to any problem I’m having . . . when I’m not thinking about my little world, I’m much happier. No matter how busy I am, there is ALWAYS time to pray for someone else.”
So, let’s serve beyond our service projects and see how God uses our serving in our own lives and in the lives of others! Honestly, these three days are a very small percentage of our school year.
I challenge you to pick up a Holiday Serving Guide around Perimeter Church or deliver cookies to your next-door neighbors. Even dropping off bags of candy at a fire station is an easy way to serve (and the younger kids love seeing the fire trucks). God can use you, no matter how you choose to serve.
And remember, people are messy, so serving is messy. But serving is ALWAYS worth it!
God shows up in our messy places and transforms ordinary moments into holy ones.