Serving Children

If you really want to understand how privileged you are - serve someone else who really needs to be served, then you see yourself and your life in a different light. The kids and I recently had an opportunity to serve at Feed My Starving Children which is an incredible organization that gets food to people who really need it.

Friends from our homeschool group spent just under two hours helping package nearly 7,000 meals or enough food to feed 19 children for a year! Everyone did their job well and we worked hard to get a lot done. Even little Sirah helped out - her and Ciaran helped pat down the bags after they were sealed and lined them up along the numbers on the table so that I could package them in a box. Rhiannon helped fill the bags with scoops of veggies and soy. They worked hard and helped clean up afterwards sweeping and drying dishes.

If you have an opportunity to serve with this organization or one like it I highly recommend it. The kids really enjoyed it and want to know if we can go back tomorrow. We have had many great conversations this evening about the work we did, the struggles that so many other children face and how blessed we are. The realization of how little money it takes to make a meal (15 cents per meal) and how much it is needed really gave us some perspective.

Serving with your children is special. It is a precious gift to pass on to them and to witness yourself as you see them put someone else above their own interests and really take it to heart. As I looked around the room I saw many families serving together and thought what a special thing that was. As I watched mothers, fathers and their kids working together for a great purpose it reminded me of how we are called to be the body of Christ to the world and to each other. What better way to show that to your children than to serve with them. There were young kids, teenagers, parents, infants and grandparents, all working together and serving together.

If you have ever performed much service whether it be through your church or your community or a local volunteer organization you have probably experienced that serving together draws you together. The people you serve with you share a special bond with. So who better to serve and share that bond with than your own children, their friends and their parents? Service opportunities abound, find one and branch out with your own children and serve someone or a purpose greater than yourselves. The results may surprise you in pleasant ways.

Peace,
Tenniel