THE BLESSINGS OF GROWTH

What makes you happiest?

Yes, I am sure you know by now that I always feel happiest when I am helping others in some capacity.  For me, it is how I am serving the Lord and sharing Him with others making me feel that I am accomplishing His will and working to further His kingdom.

My life was enriched while helping out at a retreat for two days this past week,  a place that is Holy Ground to me. Those two things are a great combination in my life.   Being away from the regular routine of life and my usual busy-ness is always a welcome treat as well as enjoying a peaceful two and a quarter hour ride listening to inspiring Christian music that blesses me.

This was actually my third time in the past year helping out at this kind of retreat in the dining room area.

I can honestly say this time I felt such personal growth in my life that I wanted to share that with you.  Maybe you can relate to the same feeling with some experience(s) you have had in your life.

For some reason this time I felt like God was changing ME more through my serving and in return I feel I received the greater blessing.

I felt the Lord leading me to stretch myself and grow more in my faith journey.  What an awesome blessing!

 

 

The quiet, solitude of staying in a little room with only a bed and desk lends time for reflection and connection with the Lord. It usually provides for inspiration and time to write and reflect even though the days are exhausting being on your feet and continually moving prepping and serving three meals along with snacks throughout the day.

Since basically the same people have assisted the last three times at this retreat, it was good to be reunited with them. There was one new younger gentleman who came to help for the first time.  Other than that, I would say that the others are all older than me.  This time there were fewer of us helping in the dining area as many of the others were actual team members for the retreat itself.

The retreat runs Thursday night through Sunday afternoon.  This was the first time I was there on Thursday so it was nice to be there from the very beginning to get in on the action a little more.

I believe that one of my gifts is more looking for the little things that need to be done and helping in the background rather than being in the spotlight, but this time I think I was stretched to go beyond the background things.  All those little things fit together to form the bigger picture.

Photo credit by BK under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

I actually felt like I got a promotion this time!  Besides helping in the dining area setting tables, filling supplies, and cleaning up, I often got to put together the snacks and the drinks.  It was nice to be creative and pick out which snacks to serve when, as well as arranging them on whatever dishes were available.

Making sure the snacks and drinks were available timely, and working closely with the kitchen liaison was a good challenge and way to get me a little out of my comfort zone. It was actually fun to be available for whatever the liaison needed to help meet the desires of those we were serving.

The kitchen crew is a great group to work with too.  They make the work fun and joking around with them helps pass the time quicker.  We are not allowed in the actual kitchen area so we got a laugh this time when I put one foot over the “line”  to hand the one guy something….I pretended I got zapped and we got a good laugh from it.

A few of the ladies that decided we needed to get better organized after the first meal were kind enough to include me in the discussion which led to good communication and better understanding and flow of how everything works together. It was nice to feel a part of the process and valued for my input. And having everything spelled out made for greater efficiency and everyone knowing what was expected when.

Part of my growth was learning to let others do their part and contribute; learning that I didn’t have to do everything.  Sometimes it is harder to let go of that control.  I consciously tried to be patient, explained how I was doing things, and tried giving others little tasks to enable them to contribute.  Making them feel helpful, useful, valuable, and respected was what I wanted to do.  I thought about my last writing with the thought that people will remember “how you made them FEEL.”

Photo credit by idua_japan under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

Another area of growth for me was in humbly accepting a heart-felt thank you and just saying “thank you”  when someone complimented me.  This time while actively serving others,  many people mentioned what a hard worker I was and how nice it was to work with me.  It was surprising to see that a few of the people weren’t even ones directly related to the dining area.

On the second night, this one sweet lady came over to me to say what a joy I was to work with and how much she appreciated working with me.  It was a special moment when she asked if she could give me a hug…she wanted to show her love for me.  It was very touching and heart-warming.  She told me a few times after that again how nice it was having me there and seeing me work and even let me know that she wished me a “good life.”

It seemed this same lady, because of watching me, wanted to help me.  I noticed she would come over to give me a hand and she wanted me to “train” her on the way I did the coffee filling station so that she could do it after I left.  I thought it was another sweet gesture on her part….It was nice to think that maybe I inspired her to fill in and stretch herself some when I was gone.

When it came time for me to leave, I was actually a little sad and felt compelled to actually hug all the people.  Each one said special things to brighten my day and many even said they loved me…the feeling was mutual I might add!  I really felt loved and appreciated by all….in just doing my little contribution to help.

As I was leaving I was overwhelmed with the thought that I know so many people contribute and spend many, many hours preparing for the retreat, planning, writing talks, and reviewing all the details of everything to ensure a successful time.  Other workers and people related to the retreat even give thank you notes and encouraging notes telling us how much they appreciate our help.  It is great to see so many contribute in their own way using their gifts to bless others.

I am truly thankful for this joy-filled time serving others….and it sure feels good to see the growth I saw in myself and the ways the Lord stretched my heart.

 

The view at the retreat place is always beautiful, no matter what season it is.  The lake, trees, mountains, wildlife and sun is another perfect combination to lift my spirit.  Being busy most of the time, I was only able to get outside a few times.  The first full day there was very cloudy and cold so it was harder to enjoy the few moments outside.  The second day was definitely warmer and the clouds had finally lifted.  That day I enjoyed a beautiful walk around the campus with the “Son” beating down, filling my soul with His love.

Okay…now it is your turn!  Can you think of and share some ways in which you know the Lord was growing you and stretching you to do more for Him? It sure would be a blessing for you to share in the comment section below to help us learn how the Lord is working in your life.

 

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.  –2 Thessalonians 1:3  (NIV)

From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  –Ephesians 4:16  (NIV)