Fall Festival

This past weekend Brian and I volunteered to work a booth at our church’s fall festival. It had the makings of a perfect day. The weather was beautiful, the kids were excited and I was eager to finally get the opportunity to serve along side of my husband. I wish that I could say these feelings lasted.

Unfortunately, this attitude of anticipation and enthusiasm left me almost as soon as I arrived at the church and found that Brian and I had been separated in our areas of responsibility. Not only did they assign us different booths to work, but they couldn’t have been farther away from each other. It was as if they saw one side of the field and sent Brian there, then pointed the complete opposite direction and sent me there.

It goes without saying that I was pretty annoyed. Finally, for once, we were going to work with a ministry together and that all got taken away in less than 30 seconds! Suddenly, I found myself becoming the volunteer that no one wants.

Philippians 2:4

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." – NIV

How hard it is to not look at our own interests, I am so far from accomplishing this that it’s embarrassing. I turned what should have been a joyful service attitude to one of entitlement. “How could they separate us” I thought. “This is going to be so boring for me now.”

We are called to serve one another in love and grace, but how easily that love morphs into prerogative before our very eyes. While nothing else in creation may have this power, thank God that He is big enough to take our eyes off of ourselves for one second.