There has been some of that. The panhandler at the intersection, buying the drinks of the guy and his young daughter behind me in line at Starbucks, tithing, taking a trunk load of clothes to the consignment shop where proceeds support victims of domestic violence, having conversations about what we can do to prevent human trafficking, giving and receiving compliments...
All the while I've neglected to write about the place where God has actually called me to serve this year: right here in my own home.
I haven't been oblivious to the fact that God has been working in my heart, in Randy's heart, in our relationship, as we build our lives together. I just assumed that the call to serve had to be bigger than that. Bigger than just the two of us. But after 8 months of this it dawned on me that I can't serve others if I'm not first willing to serve at home.
God has ordered our priorities for us: God, spouse, kids, others. And I am to serve in that order as well.
Sometimes it is easier to serve the stranger. The person whose needs are basic and desperate -- food, shelter, security, education, a job, life saving measures. The person I can walk away from after I've done my deed for the day.
But what about the person I share a life with, a home, a family, a bed, a future. Why is it that we all too often expect our needs to be met first before we will meet theirs? Why is it that we overlook their needs as less important than the stranger, when sometimes they are just as dire?
Instead of looking elsewhere for places to serve in these last 4 months of the year, I'm going to focus on the relationship right in front of me. And as I share our lives with you, I hope you won't be too grossed out by just how much we love to serve each other!
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