May I Serve You, Please?

They greeted me with eager faces and eyes sparkling with delight.  I was a newcomer, a guest they couldn’t wait to see.  Two little girls-ages eleven and twelve-ran into my room, freshly showered, hair wet and filled with the scent of their mom’s shampoo and body scrub, their upturned faces and wide grins welcoming me to my friend Kristin’s home.  After attending the Proverbs 31 She Speaks conference last weekend, I extended my North Carolina stay with a visit to see my dear friend, and her family.  Unbeknownst to us, her daughter and best friend had a treat planned for Kristin and me—massages.

As the girls busied themselves transforming the master bedroom into a spa, we could hear giggles coming from behind closed doors.  Every so often one of them would exit the room and run upstairs to garnish yet another item to aid their spa like décor.  Finally the room was ready.  They beckoned Kristin and me to enter their version of Massage Envy.  We stood wide eyed at the dimly lit room, fragment candles, comfy blankets and pillows which greeted us.  We even had our own personalized, handmade construction paper cards indicating where we should lay. This was going to be better than we bargained for!  The girls began massaging our tired necks and backs using their favorite Bath and Body Works lotions.  Now Kristin and I were the ones giggling.  We were four girls just having fun.

Of course, Kristin and I soaked up their gentle act of service.  On one level, the scene encapsulated two children playing grown up.  But on a deeper level, two young ladies lovingly served two older ones. And it was a joy for us all.

That’s the way acts of service should be.  Whether we are twelve or twenty, or twenty plus, serving another human being can bring joy to those on the giving end and those on the receiving end. Those sweet little darling’s eyes sparkled as they prepared our room, their mouths turned upward in wide grins at their plans to make our day a bit brighter.

I wonder how often we serve those in our homes as joyfully as those little girls served us.

Do our eyes sparkle at the thought of our loved ones coming home at the end of a busy day?  Do we find pleasure in making another’s day a little brighter, a little lighter, a little more fun?  We may not need to transform our bedroom into a massage parlor (although maybe that’s not such a bad idea either!) but we can find joy in preparing meals or folding laundry or brushing hair or taking walks or lingering longer around the dinner table.

What about those you serve at church?  Do you smile when thinking about making them feel loved, accepted, at home? Do you find joy in teaching, or greeting or cleaning or preparing for them?

Like those two bright eyed little girls, we can serve with joy.

And when we do, everyone has more fun.

“…serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13