A Heart to Serve

There are mornings like today when I wake up and my heart is overwhelmed with a desire for service. I’ve always known that service means a lot to me: helping others; sharing of whatever resources I could; making sure that as I experienced things, I freely helped to open doors for others to do the same. As I have gotten older and definitely since I have been abroad, my feelings and longings to serve have increased. Some of this intensity has come from the natural process of aging and maturing where we (hopefully) are more in tune with ourselves and more affirming of who we are. But I think my sentiments have also intensified because I am in a place where it is not as easy for me to serve. I don’t have access to the traditional classroom setting I am familiar with at home. I don’t have a temporary church home – although I am searching for one. I am not aware of the major civic organizations and clubs in the area where I can get involved. In this regard, I am reminded of how finite my time is here with notions of “do as much as you can to enjoy every moment, but there are limits on how much you can get involved or invested”. So sometimes I feel overly anxious about returning to my home in the U.S. Other times I am excited to have been plucked out that space in an effort to become keenly attuned to who I am and whose I am. And likewise, I am encouraged in knowing that the ways in which I can be of service here are different and perhaps limited, but they are not impossible! This morning as I was thinking about this blog post, I found this speech by Oprah. It perfectly sums up how I feel about the necessity of sharing the gifts we are granted. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. For everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (Luke 12:48, NIV).