Service With A Smile

To serve others not only benefits those we serve but is an incredible gift we give ourselves. This weekend I was blessed to be apart of the work crew at our Young Life winter camp in Colorado. A group of amazing  people shopped, scheduled, cooked, served, and cleaned for our high school friends so that they along with their leaders could have an incredible weekend. While we stayed in the background providing for them, they enjoyed 2 days of skiing and snowboarding, skits, deep conversations, and a wonderful speaker. The whole idea of YL is to bring the excellence of Christ to teens and this week with a sink full of dishes I got to take on a different role in providing just that.

Normally, I am one of the leaders in the middle of all the excitement with the teens. This experience of being a servant in the background was new for me. I really didn't know what to expect. What I found out was how much fun the work crew has while selflessly doing everything to provide a flawless weekend of delicious meals and snacks at just the right times. Making sure that their is an abundance and everyone has everything they desire was so fulfilling.

The night we prepared hot dogs and hamburgers one camper asked where the sauteed onions were while sitting at a table with almost every fixing imaginable. Instead of treating him as ungrateful, I popped in the kitchen and heated up the butter in the pan to show him that he was worth the effort to cook up a few onions. You should have seen the look on his face as I presented him with his request. He was impressed and felt like he mattered. Another guy asked me if he could have a whole bag of mini eclairs as I was refilling the bowl on his table for the 3rd time. His expression was laughable as I handed him the rest of the bag. Needless to say, I had a connection with both of them for the rest of the weekend.

It takes so little effort to convince someone that we care. Taking that step into service was humbling, exhausting and humbling. God put me with just the right people to laugh and cry and share hearts with this weekend. The work crew not only served teens and leaders, we formed a lasting bond with each other. Our gift is new friendships, prayer partners, and a whole lot of funny stories about our new found cohorts. Some stories I could share in this blog and some are best just remembered with a smile.

JOY Jesus, Others, then Yourself. I love that. Whenever we live a joy filled life God puts us on the receiving end of so much more than we give.

In Him,
Joyful
1-17-2011