Day 45: Simple Service

I've been thinking about that wonderful feeling you get when you do some simple act of service for someone else. Somehow you always come away with more than what you gave. If you're unhappy with life, simply stepping outside of yourself and serving someone else does a world of good. If you love someone, service is a great way to show it. If you're grateful for your blessings, blessing someone else's life is the natural course.

As a boy my Dad was always signing me and my brothers up for some type of service in the neighborhood or church congregation. In fact, one time we were camping several hundred miles from home at a reservoir where we'd never been before and where we've never been since and the next thing we new he had made arrangements with the local ranger's station for us to get a bunch of trash bags and clean up the stretch of picnic areas along the beach where we were camping.

I know I've referenced this type of upbringing before but it has had such an impact on my life it tends to be a recurring theme. I hope in some small way I can pass this on this on to my children.

This past mother's day the kids were extremely excited when we made breakfast for Grandma and Grandpa (my wife's parents). They took over two plates of breakfast, like the ones below, and some flowers freshly cut from our yard. It was obvious when they came home that they had felt that amazing feeling that comes with simple acts of service. I'm grateful for simple acts of service.