"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve..." - Mark 10:45 NIV
Hi everyone! I'm Miss ALK from the blog Confessions of a Maine Teenager. If you have been on my blog anytime within the last month you will notice a lack of posts. This summer has gotten off to a crazy start for me. I recently graduated from high school in June and also have been busy getting back to work at my summer job and spending time with family and friends. I thought that a blogging break was necessary to spend more time in the precious present of this busy season of my life. Anyways- I was so honored that Emily asked me to guest post! Her blog is one that inspired me to start a blog. I hope that you're having a wonderful time at camp my dear and we all look forward to hearing about it when you come back!
Today I would like to write about helping others. This is such a broad topic, and I am by no means an expert. I've never been on a missions trip, and there will always be people who have done more then me. But what I want to talk about is how small acts of service and kindness can really do a difference. I will be talking about the things that I've done during my high school years, but I'm sure that all of you have done your own unique things as well! Leave a comment on this post sharing with everyone how the small things you've done have made a big difference. :-)
As I said earlier I recently graduated from high school. I was homeschooled for elementary and middle school but I went to a public high school. From sophomore year on I was an active member in my high school's Interact club, which is a community service club. I've blogged about it on my personal blog before. It was great to meet other students who also wanted to make a difference in their community (and world). With other club members I volunteered at different local organizations (such as the soup kitchen) and also helped out during events such as a fall festival at a nearby museum. It was always amazing to see how grateful the people were that we were volunteering for, and it was great to be of help right in my own community. If your school has some sort of service based club, I'd highly recommend that you join.
But, the best service that I got to do during my high school years was volunteering for my church. At first I did little things such as helping to maintain the bulletin boards in the foyer at my church, help set up coffee and refreshments for after the services. Then I started greeting during the services. I'd stand in the entryway and hand each family a bulletin and say good morning. People started complimenting me for my genuineness and telling me how much a kind smile helped to make their Sunday morning. I had no idea that by doing just a simple act of greeting I was blessing people so much!
Last summer, I was a Sunday school teacher when the regular teachers took summer vacation. We did lessons studying missions, and one activity was making cards for a missionary family that lived in Malaysia. Several months later I received a surprise card back from the missionaries. They said how touched and grateful they were for the cards that my class had made, and thanked us for praying for their mission. Again, I was in awe of how such a small gesture touched this family! It was a blessing to bless them.
I encourage all of you to see if there is any type of service that you can participate in at your church. It might be anything from attending a missions or service trip to another country down to baking cookies for a Sunday school class. Talk to your pastor, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders or church office staff. Or, just open your eyes wide and see if there is anything that needs to be done. Trust me- you won't regret it!
xoxo Miss ALK
P.S. I'll be off to college this fall and I hope to get involved with some service based projects through my school. Someday, I also do want to go on a missions trip!
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