To Love, To Serve, To Offer All

   My painting class is also a class to explore words in art and the marriage of an image with a mantra. As I worked through the writing exercises I reluctantly settled on the one word mantra; serve. Just like when I was searching for the habits in my life that I could base my happiness upon, service came to my mind, unwittingly. You see, I don't think I'm very good at serving others. Or to be more precise, I don't serve naturally. I am more naturally self-interested but over the years I've come to embrace acts of service as life affirming.

    More important than just serving is serving wholeheartedly; or being "all in". I find the adverb, wholeheartedly, to be the most telling in how helpful I am to others. I am resigned to accept that I will have to remind myself to be available and to serve open-heartedly. The test is always to see where my heart comes into play.

       The words of King Benjamin prod and encourage me to serve all my days in gratitude for God's supporting hand in my life.