Service With A Smile

How can it be May already? This year is zipping by too quickly, and I've heard many other people making that same comment. ~ As I look at my calendar now turned to the month of May, I am reminded that at the start of 2013 I chose a new "Word for the Year" which I want to make sure I remember

. This year my word is SERVICE. I decided (at the end of this past December) that throughout 2013 I really wanted to focus on serving God. And the way to serve God is by serving others. So I look for ways (yes, they're usually little ways) to do things for others. Sending cards and gifts for no special occasion is one of my favorite ways to help--and bless--others. I know how much a "thinking of you" card has meant to me in the past, so I always pray when I send a card (or gift) that the person receiving it will be blessed. Maybe if that person has had a rough day or week, my card will arrive at exactly the right time to lift their spirits. Even small acts such as assisting an elderly person with a shopping cart at the store, or picking up a toy that a small child has dropped can be a way of serving others. Of course taking a meal to a family in need is a way of serving others--the list could go on and on. But I'm also reminded that as I look for ways to serve, I need to have a servant's heart. Rather than wanting to do things for myself, I need to be joyful as I do things for others, because by serving others I am serving the Lord. So may I always serve others with a smile--not complaining or grumbling--but being truly joyful that I'm pleasing God by serving others.     ~     ~
                Serve the Lord with gladness.  Psalm 100:2