Thoughts on Service

Friday night we went over with a couple families to clean the church building. As I was vacuuming classrooms in the Primary wing, I started thinking about providing service. In particular, I started thinking about service provided to my family by others while growing up. 

Many times when we think about serving others, we spend our efforts on how we can server those around us. We focus on the service we provide. I think we tend to shy away from receiving service from others. In my opinion, it is because we do not want to admit we may need help. However, there are blessings we receive from service other than the actual service. 

In looking back at this service given, there are a couple examples that stand out to me. Two of those examples involve a couple brothers that served as our Bishop at some time or another. One thing these brethren had in common at some point is they were both mechanics. I remember my dad trying to keep our car going. These men at some time or another spent some personal time or provided some discounted services at their shops to help.

I also thought about home teachers we had assigned to our family across the years. The individuals that stand out are those that made the effort to be consistent in visiting our home. Other than the benefit of knowing there were others that cared about our family, it provided a great example of providing service and time to others. That has had a long lasting effect on me. 

The final examples I thought about were church youth leaders I had growing up. Ones that stand out the most are those I had in my high school years. They spent a great deal of time building relationships with us, providing spiritual knowledge, and providing opportunities for us to develop lasting relationships with our peers. Their examples still stand, as ways I can raise my boys, being aware of other’s needs, and how I should treat my wife. 

What are some examples of lasting service others have provided you?