[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]No one has to twist my arm to attend one of our Women’s Ministry events. Maybe I’m a little biased. I’ve been blessed to serve in/with the Women’s Ministry for as long as I can remember and there is maybe one or two Women’s Ministry events I have missed over the years. No matter what the nature of the event is, I love any reason to get together with the women of Lighthouse (and any of their guests). I was especially excited for our Fall Event: Serving and Loving One Another because we would get to put what we learn into practice by participating in a service project.
It was a blessing to hear from Debi DelMonico (our main speaker for the morning). She’s someone who definitely loves others well. I’ve personally been blessed by her example of faithful service since the start of Lighthouse, so I was excited to hear from her on this topic in particular.
Her message, and the morning as a whole, gave me a chance to slow down and take more time to reflect and pray through something Tim and I’ve been praying through for a good chunk of this year: my serving commitments at Lighthouse. I’m actually involved in several ministries and Tim, as most of you know, is one of our associate pastors, overseeing our church’s Counseling Ministry. So, in the hopes of better supporting my husband and his ministry, we’ve been evaluating and re-evaluating my personal ministry involvement. And as Debi was exhorting us to be faithful to 1 John 3:17-18 (“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”), I was convicted to consider if my service was truly honoring God and loving those around me. Most importantly, I was convicted to ask, “am I prioritizing the importance of serving my husband and my children?” And was I truly submitting to God in where (ministries) and how was I serving? I enjoy serving. But why? And was I serving from a heart of worship? Humble submission (to God and to my husband)? Or was I serving out of selfish ambition?
After Debi spoke, we had the blessing of hearing testimonies from Sammie Kuo and Julie Castle. Sammie shared the blessing of being raised by parents who love the Lord and have always served God faithfully, in particular in the area of hospitality. And Julie shared the blessing of being served by a loving church family. Tears may or may not have been shed.
After having our hearts filled with God’s word and testimonies of His goodness in the lives of those who serve and those who have been served, we (over 55 women) transitioned into the Fellowship Hall to put together some care packages for those who need a little extra comfort and encouragement. We made cards and heat packs that were assembled into care packages (including a grocery gift card) for the staff to give to those who may be in need of them. As you can imagine, the atmosphere in the Fellowship Hall was lively, warm and joy-filled. There were women sitting at tables, fellowshipping while making cards, writing verses on those cards, sewing fabric for the heat packs, and filling the heat packs. This is cheesy, but I honestly still smile thinking about that morning. What a perfect Saturday morning – getting together with some of the women of our church, sitting under great teaching, being blessed by sweet testimonies, and then serving together by using our hands to put together care packages for those who need them!
Serving others is a joy. But what makes that joy go even deeper is sharing in the fellowship of serving together. The morning we spent together was a great reminder that though we may go through different seasons of life, serving the Lord with the body of Christ is a constant joy that God wants for us as a church family. The different seasons of life may change how we serve, but it won’t negate or deter our serving as we fix our eyes on the greatest servant of all, Christ Jesus. Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]
