Service Day 5: Server or Served by Janna Sowers

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched and one who
waters will he himself be watered.
                                                                  – Proverbs 11:25

In 2013, my parents died 4 months apart. I read that losing one parent is like a comma, and losing your second parent is like a period. My comma and period were too close together and the resulting grief was unmooring, numbing and overwhelming. 

Within weeks, our FUMC youth began planning a mission trip to Honduras. In the midst of the chaos of grief, my daughter Natalie, then 15, and I committed to the Honduras trip. 

The spirit of the Honduran people instantly took hold of my heart. I do not possess the vocabulary to express the depth of connection and pull. I have been fortunate enough to make return trips to Honduras. My earnest prayer is that our presence and efforts uplift them. 

“Mission” evokes the notion of service to others. Synonyms for mission are quest, goal, purpose, aim. My formative mission experience was of a quest and goal beyond myself. From numb to touched, unmoored to connected, and overwhelmed to fulfilled. Through the grace and hand of an awesome God, I have been enriched and watered through my service opportunities. 

PRAYER:  May I be open to service, to be the enricher & the enriched, the waterer & the watered.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: When we serve others, whether a stranger, neighbor, friend or in a foreign country, we are living abundantly.

​Written by Janna Sowers

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