Service

 


It's a beautiful Veteran's Day today.  The sun is shining (although it IS chilly) and it's the perfect day to gather outside and honor our veterans. If it's not sunny and beautiful where you are, I hope you will take a moment wherever you are at 11:11 to remember and honor all that our veterans have done.

I am NOT a veteran.  I never could have passed the muster and to be honest, I don't know even if I had if I would have had the stamina to do so.  I do have family and friends who have served.  (If you are reading this, you know who you are and THANK YOU for all that you did.)  Some of them saw combat, some of them did not. I know some of their stories, but regretfully do not know more.   I know there must be stories, but many of them passed away before I was even born.  Many of those who I knew during their lifetime, I never had the presence of mind to ask. (Shame on me for that.)  So if I might offer a little advice on this Veteran's Day...ask and learn the stories.  Now is the time...you may not have a chance later.  (Learn from my mistakes.)

On this Veterans Day, I'm thinking about service.  While I cannot serve in the military, I wonder what I can do and where I can do it to serve.  While I would LOVE to have a job where I could fulfill my wish to serve, that doesn't seem like an option right now.  (See: https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/calling.html). 

 I have served in various capacities and as a Christian I try to remember:   "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."I do have an opportunity to serve again in a Christian mission and I am carefully (and prayerfully) considering it.  It is an opportunity to serve and help and also fit into my crazy life schedule.

I truly believe that we are all called to service, no matter who we are or where we are in our life's journey.    Opportunities abound and it's just about finding the right one for YOU.  Seek and you shall find... although sometimes opportunities just fall into your lap.  I look back to when the pandemic began and I offered to shop for groceries for others who might not be able to do so for themselves.  It was quite simple; just adding items to my grocery list, packing them separately when bagging groceries and then dropping them off.  (Yes, I did get paid for what I purchased.)  I am no longer needed to do that task, although I do try to add items to my own list regularly (I'd like to say weekly, but that's not always the case), and donate them to my local food pantry.

Lifestyle and commitments need to be considered when making the decision to serve.  Service requires commitment and if you don't have the time or capacity to serve in one particular way, then it is probably not the right service opportunity for you. What's right for one is not right for all.  Move on and seek other opportunities.

Perhaps today to honor our veterans we could seek out opportunities to serve others.  It seems like a fitting tribute to those who have served us.

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