Finding Laughter in Service

I believe serving others makes my life more enjoyable. As I go through my day looking for opportunities to serve those in need, I stumble on chances that lead to stronger friendships and hours of laughter.

I feel that service is a blessing in disguise. At first glance, service seems to take so much hard work and time, but, in the end, the laughter and enjoyment outweigh the hard work. For example, I was relaxing on my lawn not too long ago when I noticed that one of my neighbors was attempting to rake up the leaves in her yard. The sweet elderly woman had been through a painful accident that had paralyzed her from the waist down. I noticed that her wheelchair was impairing her raking movements rather than helping them, so I decided to help her out. I ran inside to grab my rake and dashed over to her yard. After about an hour of raking up the stubborn pine needles and leaves, she invited me inside to enjoy some fresh cookies and a tall glass of milk.

Since that day when I gave up a few moments of lazy lounging, my neighbor has given me several gifts ranging from cookies to Christmas decorations. I have helped her several times since then and have enjoyed her company very much. Every time that I cross the threshold into her house, I am able to leave my cares and worries behind. Instead of focusing on my own needs, I am able to give my services to a dear friend and enjoy myself at the same time.

After Hurricane Ike hit our area, my family and I took the chance to reach outside of our comfort zone to help our neighbors. My father brought us along on his chainsaw parties that went around helping the people who were in a more desperate position than we were. In our neighborhood, some neighbors needed whole roofs replaced while others’ lawns were not visible due to the amount of sticks and branches that had been tossed about in the storm. Through this long process, I was able to learn about the rewards that come from helping those around me. It made me grateful for what I have and how lucky my family was throughout that whole ordeal.

I am grateful for the blessing it is to be able to serve those around me and gain friends in the process. This I believe: That serving those around me makes my life more enjoyable and more bearable.