"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:3-5)
and my all time favorite:
"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)
So maybe it was fitting that our home school group arranged for us to visit a police station for a tour today. What better example of providing service, even at the risk of their own lives! We braved the cold weather (Who are we to complain since it was only a short stint of freezing temperatures and no snow or ice?!) and headed to the station.
We were met by a female officer who has been on the force for almost 20 years. Officer Beverly looked gruff but she was ready to meet with the children and share her tales. No question was too absurd as she remained patient with children from 2-18 years old (along with the moms and one dad...thank you Michael for joining us!). I said later that she did such a great job because she was able to keep it interesting for the older children without getting the younger ones to scared! She talked about her belt of tools that included taser, pepper spray, ASP baton, flashlight and glock pistol. She shared stories of being out on patrol and using her tools. Thankfully, she has never had to use her gun on patrol and has never been shot. The boys especially enjoyed seeing the demonstration of the taser gun (no one was hurt in this demonstration!). She also took us on a tour of the police department, which included her patrol vehicle, the booking area, the holding cells and the various offices. Later in the day, Michael took the children on a different service oriented experience. I talk about our wonderful library all the time. These ladies at our library also provide us service without fault each week (well every day!) and we might take for granted all they do for us. We cannot imagine showing up the library and not having them there for our needs. They go out of their way to make our experience the best it can be. They provide us books, of course. However, they also go to great lengths to provide an atmosphere ripe for learning and enjoyment. Our library brings us special programs on a regular basis. We know that if we need to find something to past the time, the library is just a short way away and we are never disappointed!
On this particular visit, the library provided bird houses for the families to paint. Each month we are given a family book to read and activities related to the book are provided throughout the month. This month the book was The Year of the Book. A great read introduced to us by our library! Zaira and the boys really enjoyed painting their birdhouse together. Our youth librarian stayed late to ensure everyone had what they needed for this project. She gave up her own time to make this happen! She always has a smile on her face and eager to help the children in any way. We will go back tot he library tomorrow and she will be there again to read to the pre-schoolers and teach them about the letters of the alphabet. We love our librarians and so thankful for them all!
As I look back on the day, I realize that we are all given opportunity to have a servant's heart. Do we take the time to find that way that God has placed in our path?
Right now Henry and I are working on creating our saint dolls. This is a perfect example of being a servant. I am so thankful that our new friend Jenny has organized this project. We are able to provide 48 saints to each family participating. What a wonderful service to others! We are giving our time and talent to create these dolls. We will be sharing with all the families (from across the country!) and this will be a gift that will shared with others as well. I know that our dolls will be used to teach and share about the saints for a long time to come. Most of all, our little ones will be able to play with these dolls and learn through play.
Believe it or not (I hardly can myself!)...I have completed my little saints today! I am so excited to have them all in a row together. I just need to put a clear coat on them to be ready to share with others. Henry is close behind me and will have his done tomorrow! We were so motivated by the experience that we created two more dolls for our collection...a Sacred Heart of Jesus and an Immaculate Heart of Mary! We hope to add others to the collection as well...we need to order more dolls.
Mother Teresa and Maximilian Kolbe are perfect examples of a servant's heart. Mother Teresa gave all her to the poor and dying of India. She was willing to care for the "untouchables" in a society that wanted to ignore their existence. She gathered support and formed a new order of nuns who would also dedicate their lives to this service. Mother Teresa truly cared for the least of this world. Maximilian Kolbe had a desire to spread the truth in a world of corruption. He was willing to risk his life for this truth. He, in fact, gave up his life and was entered into the worst of prisons under Nazi care...Auschwitz concentration camp. He then gave up his life to save a man from death. He gave the ultimate gift of service to save the life of another. How is this possible to give so much for others? What gave these saints and others the courage to serve others? What must we look for in order to have a servant's heart? We must ask for the grace from God! We are nothing without HIM!
I also wish to have a servant's heart....to give of myself for others. Creating in me that desire and the ability to give of myself daily...for family...friends...strangers. Amen!
For one day, I wanted to be standing before God and hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:23)
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