40 Days of Seeking Him Lent 2012 ~ Service of Others
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Tonight, P commented that he feels like we are starting to ‘live’ at church. We spent a fair amount of time there over the weekend helping to recruit youth and adult volunteers for the new youth ministry program. Plus, D’s Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet was held at the church on Saturday afternoon. Our Cubmaster is also the person spear-heading the youth program, so we saw a lot of him this weekend. And, tonight was the debriefing meeting for the youth ministry to then set up plans for the big launch of the program after Easter. P’s got a follow up meeting of the youth on Wednesday just so the core team can get to know each other better. With Truth Quest talks Thursday night and Soup and Stations on Friday, it does seem like we”ll be living there. And, it isn’t even Holy Week!
Through all this flurry of activity, P is also starting to learn an aspect of our baptismal call… to serve others.
The youth ministry ‘leader’ (for lack of a better term) did a wonderful job at the Masses conveying this important call for service by using the following story.
There once was a young man (or lady) who began walking down the shore after a storm had left many starfish stranded on the shore. He would pick up the starfish, admiring their beauty, and then toss each one back into the ocean.
An old man saw the young man doing this and cried out to him, “Why are you wasting your time tossing starfish back into the ocean. There are thousands stranded on the beach. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
The young man continued on his walk, tossing in starfish as he went.
Again the old man sought his attention and saying, “You are just wasting your time. How can you possibly make a difference with thousands left to die.”
The young man stopped, bent down, picked up a starfish and after a moment tossed it into the sea. He then turned to the old man and stated, “I just made a difference in the life of THAT starfish.”
There are days when it seems like I have a laundry list of things to do and places to be that can never possibly be tackled. I know that my email inbox sits much fuller than I’d like with pages upon pages of messages to sort and purge. It all seems to be ‘too much’ and I could easily throw up my hands and surrender to what seems like the inevitable.
Instead, I like to stop and remember that in the busyness of life I am called to serve others in a variety of ways. Each time I ‘minister’ to another, it might seem like a drop in a vast ocean. When I take a few moments to soothe a child who is hurting, I demonstrate how the Father calls us to love. When I actively listen to another mother who needs to talk about troubles she is having, I demonstrate that she is valued and can find a safe sounding board through me.
What have you done today that helps make the difference in someone’s life?
Father, life can get so busy at times with many demands upon me. Help me to take the time to minister to others throughout the day rather than get wrapped up in my own busyness. What may seem like an insignificant impact may have a lasting effect upon the other person. May I always remember to be that small ‘drop’ in the big ocean of life. Amen.
This year, I am joining Trish @ A House Upon the Rock in co-hosting the 40 Days of Seeking Him meme. The linky will be up each week so you can add in posts daily, weekly, or whenever you are able. The posts can be about anything related to Lent and preparing for Easter ~ crafts, food, devotions, music or reflections are all welcomed.
I hope you will join us on this journey as we prepare our hearts to receive the wonderful gift of salvation we’ve been given through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
