Servanthood

I am a fairly typical type A personality.  I have been taught to step up and lead.  I have been affirmed in my gifts and given roles of responsibility and authority.  I am the cruise director of my friends, helping pick the movie, plan a day, or select the restaurant.

One of the best things I have learned in the midst of all my take charge life and work is how to step back and be a servant.  Often I want to help and by help I mean go in and make it all better!  But really what most people need is someone to love them with a servant heart.  It is what Jesus was calling us to as he washed feet at the last supper.  I remember clearly one day after a tragic loss for the elementary school in our former town asking a teacher if she needed any help.  I was thinking I could provide a little encouragement or perhaps I could listen as she told me of her pain.  What she needed was for me to cut some paper for an afternoon art project.  She hadn’t done it because she had been crying through her prep time.  So my gift that day was one of simple, but needed labor.  What I learned is that some times the best gifts are the most humble.

My latest volunteer endeavor is 3 hours a month at the Southwest Community Health Center.  I answer phones and check people in for their appointments.  I am the low one on the totem poll.  The nurses, doctors, and roomer all have more power then I do.  My job is simple, but important.  And it’s the right one for my skill set given that they don’t let PoliSci majors with MAs in ethics provide medical care.

There is something really restorative about doing the small amount I can to serve people in need.  It is good for my soul to show up and do a job, whether it be greeting people and writing their name down on a clipboard, or spending a day making homework packets for 4th graders.  It’s a powerful experience of being part of something beyond myself when I’m a follower.  I find such peace in doing something small as a gift of  love for someone else.

We all, no matter our age, have something to give.  We can show up and love in simple, small ways that really do make a difference.  I encourage you to think of ways you can serve be it at your local elementary school or down at the food bank.  All sorts of labor and love is needed to make this world reflect God’s dream for us.  Won’t you join me?

-Eilidh

My workroom endeavors at school, fueled by coffee!