I’m headed straight toward 200 community service hours. Many people immediately assume that if an 18 year old volunteers, she is getting credits for college. But my reason for serving people runs much deeper than that.
From the day I was born, my parents stressed servant leadership. They lived among the people of Paraguay as missionaries for several years, immersing themselves in the culture and building relationships everywhere they went. As the pastor of a small church in Texas, no one gave more of his heart and soul to people than my father. He used to plan times to go out to lunch with each young man in his church, for one-on-one discussion. It was not uncommon for us to host large groups of people for a meal simply because my parents were like that. And I don’t remember a whole year anywhere in my childhood when we didn’t have someone living with us, whether for a long- or short-term period.
Growing up like this, I have always had a deep desire to serve, no matter where or how. No, it’s not always been easy, but yes, it has always been worth the effort.
Volunteer work is just one way of expressing my inner servant’s heart. It’s not about getting the credit.
- It’s about seeing kid’s faces light up with joy when they catch sight of me.
- It’s about watching love unfold at the weddings of people I love.
- It’s about being able to lead individuals to the greatest source of education: books.
- It’s about healing humanity through the gifts of time and love.
- It’s about showing people that their lives are worth living.
- It’s about being the one bright spot in someone’s day, whether you ever hear from them again or not.
- It’s about forgetting myself while pouring out into the souls of those I meet, to make the world a better place.
I hold that no person can lead unless he has first learned to be a servant.