Learning to Serve the Hard Way Part 3

Holidays would have been hard had I not learned what I had from Erik.

When I didn't have the children for Christmas, family and friends would invite me to join them but seeing their children and not mine wouldn't do much for my spirits so I chose to go and sing to the patients at the local nursing home.

I gave each patient a foot massage as I sang their favorite Christmas carol. I took little gifts and trinkets such as laughing key chains, jewelry, oranges or candy canes.

Now, my girls and sometimes their friends go with me so we can sing in harmony. At first, they were afraid to go. Now, they ask me when we are going again. The last time, they asked if we could stop at the hospital on the way home and visit more people and so we did.

We enjoyed our service missions to Peru but we try to serve daily and enjoy inviting a new family to dinner most Sundays.


These are just a few ways our family serves. When my children start to whine or fight, I say, "Oh, someone needs to do service." and we talk about what type of service they could do so they realized they are blessed. Every year we do a sub for Santa or "The 12 days of Christmas" for a needy family.

We usually visit the family before hand with a plate of cookies just for a friendly visit to scope out and see what their needs may be. Then, we go about collecting and planning and deliver the items at night or use a neighbor. One year we paid the paper boy to deliver it with the morning paper each day. He said the kids were waiting by the window each morning and kept asking who was having him deliver the items.

By having my children go with me to visit the needy, they have come to realize how blessed they are. If they ask me for something that is a bit excessive on the want side, I say, "I wonder if those children in Peru playing with those rocks and dirt would like one of those? What do you think?" This usually gets an embarrassed smile and then they find something they are blessed to have and enjoy it all the more.

Thanks again Erik for the life changing lesson in Service!

As an aside, I know that there is a nutritional side to depression so when I meet someone or know someone that is depressed; I suggest the stress vitamin therapy that is listed on the pages of the blog. I also suggest they do service.

Sometimes we invite them to do service with us. Many have told me that the combination has saved their lives. Often times they had a hard time with the prescription drugs they were on or that were ordered. The natural way helped where drugs couldn't. Of course, discuss all health issues with your health care professional. These are just some ways that helped me and others.