Spiritual Thought Sunday - Service

Today as I woke up I debated whether or not I should go to church, being that I have a 3 inch deep wound wide open on my abdomen.I really needed that spiritual boost so I decided to go. I gain so much from the lessons and talks I truly do look forward to going each week. As a price I came home from church a bit more sore. I wanted to rest but was reminded of the lesson given during Relief Society. That was to have more of a desire to serve others. Through service we can begin to realize and understand that we are not alone when it comes to our trials. Service teaches you to be less of yourself and more for others. Service also helps take the focus off of your own tribulations and focus on those trials others might be facing. It reminded me of Tyler's sweet request to me the night before as I held his hand at bedtime. He mentioned his desire to do more service on Sundays. He had remembered those repetitive Sundays when we would go visit the Convalescent Home and sing songs and play with the elderly. And he yearned for that again. How could I deny that?I didnt know how I would be filling the next day so I made no promises, but agreed that I too had missed our Service Sundays.

Today I met a really nice single mom at church. She was new and all by herself. I took down her number and promised to call her sometime. I couldnt have thought of a better time to call then on a beautiful sabbath afternoon. As we arrived home I pushed off my afternoon nap, kicked my pain to the curb and decided to focus on finding some sort of service to do with the kids. I was then reminded of Nicole from church (the new single mom). She had been investigating the church and had only been going for a couple weeks now. I asked Tyler if he would want to bake some cookies and deliver them to Nicole as our service for this Sunday. He was super excited and couldnt wait. We made yummy homemade lemon cookies and Tyler wrote down a scripture for her that we searched and looked up about "Being of good cheer".

I may not have had the chance to kick my feet up and take a nice Sunday snooze, but I was able to help teach my boys the power behind service and love. We were able to feel the importance behind thinking of others during our own trials. As my husband went home teaching I piled all 4 kids in the van and we went to visit Nicole and deliver our cookies. It felt great to be able to focus on her and get to know her better. She's had kind of a rough go in her years past, but is anxious and ready to find a better life. As we sat and discussed our feelings on the gospel it was really neat to have my boys sit and listen to the challenges others face and feel the spirit as we shared our testimonies. I wanted my boys to learn that through service our burdens can be made light. We can learn to be less selfish and more thoughtful of others. We can learn to set aside our own struggles and find peace through serving others.

As we left Nicoles house Tyler turned to me in the car and thanked me for a fun service day. That makes my heart and soul swell. Im glad he too can find such joy in the service of others. There is really no greater feeling then that of service. Im glad my boys can learn that at an early age.