Monday, October 17, 2011

You Have Filled my Heart with Greater Joy

Serving has become a huge part of my life and is one of the most enjoyable and spiritually rewarding things I have ever done. When People say, "Blessed is the giver more than the receiver" they aren't kidding!

I began volunteering [at Woodside] with singing in the choir at age eleven and have since done anything from packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, to leading groups of first graders through Kreative Kids Day Camp. Whatever the occasion I love volunteering. God has filled my heart with greater joy through volunteering and, though it seems backwards, I have become more outgoing through meeting people who share the same goal as I have; to reach out to the world as the hands and feet of Christ. Christ not only commands us to be His hands and feet but He came to set an example.* It is this example that makes me rush to AWANA every Wednesday to greet the precious faces of my Cubbies. I have learned more from their innocent hearts than I ever imagined and they never fail to make my day with smiles and laughter.

The friends I have made while serving have become some of the best. I would not be who I am today without these friends, or the experiences we’ve had together while serving. God calls us each to serve and there is a place for everybody. He wants to fill your heart with greater joy!

*Matthew 20:26-28 "...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

John 13:14-15 "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."