TO SERVE OR NOT TO SERVE

I have been thinking about our great role of "serving" in motherhood. As a young mother I remember feeling "I'm just a jolly servant around this place." I was still filled with selfishness, and although I loved my children and loved motherhood, I still wondered why I had to be the servant.

As the years have moved on, I realize more and more that it is a privilege to serve. It is innately in us as mothers to serve. We only reject it because of our selfishness, and in the end we miss out. For God blesses us when we serve. We are fulfilled when we serve. We are born to serve.

Of course we all want to "serve the Lord." That's our greatest ambition in life. But, dear mother, when you mother your children and pour your life into making your home a sanctuary for God, for your husband and children, and all who come in to your home, YOU ARE SERVING THE LORD! This is your service to Him.

Yes, I know it's hard work. But, Psalm 100:2 tells us to "Serve the Lord with GLADNESS." That means "exceeding joy." The Hebrew for "serve" means "to work, to labor," the same word as "six days shalt thou labor."

The one who serves will be blessed. Don't expect to be waited on. Be happy to serve. Even as Jesus, the Son of God, "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life" [Matthew 20:28].

Love from Nancy Campbell