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When in Doubt: SERVE.


I saw this video last Sunday and it gave me the warmest of fuzzies.

Do you know someone like the man in this video? I do. I know several someones. One example: A friend of mine I met while I lived in Argentina, Alejandra, was just like this man. I remember once we were walking together past a front yard where trash was strewn everywhere, a result of stray dogs who had gotten into some mischief looking for some food. The woman who owned the home was hurriedly trying to gather all the trash up, a concerned look creasing her forehead. Without batting an eyelash, Alejandra began collecting the garbage alongside her. As she helped gather the debris, she asked the woman about her day and if there was anything else she could do to help her.

People like Alejandra don't hesitate, they just DO. When they see an opportunity, they take it.

This afternoon I had the opportunity to help my cousin-sister move. She lives about an hour away, and she just needed some help cleaning and carrying things to her new place (which was only a few doors down). All morning I kept having these thoughts of but you have so many chores to do here and it's going to be hard helping someone out when you bring a 10-month-old baby along, you might as well not go because you'll just be in the way. Yeah, some real annoying and convincing demons were just bantering in my mind. But some unforeseen gumption got me out the door, and I tell you what--it was a fantastic afternoon. I got to chat with my aunt while we both worked to scrub the kitchen, my cousin-sister and I got to enjoy some quality time talking, and I had the drive to ponder and think about some big decisions my husband and I are trying to make. IT WAS A MARVELOUS TIME ALL AROUND.

So why the heck did I pay those little demons any mind at all? Well, the thing is, there's a voice in each of us that comes up with excuses, fears, and frustrations like a "road closed" sign on our path to doing good for others. If there's something I'm learning time and again when I listen to those demons, it's that I missed out on an opportunity to nourish happiness in myself and others.

I'm grateful for my cousin-sister. She's a light in my life, and the backstory to all of this is that she has spent hours upon hours serving me. We've known each other all our lives, so the list could go on and on... but in recent years she's served me by spending time with me walking the neighborhood and listening to my crushes-on-boys drama after I returned from my mission. She woke up with me at 5 am so I could surprise Kevin with a doorbell-ditched morning birthday gift back when we were dating. She co-hosted a darling bridal shower for me, was a doting bridesmaid, and wrote me regularly while she was away on her mission. She bought Charlie the cutest of Disney outfits when he was a newborn. Those are just a few examples, but she's an incredible example to me of joyful service. She doesn't doubt, she just serves.

So, moral of the story: When you have the opportunity to help someone out in even the smallest of ways, just do it. Don't doubt. Don't fill your mind with reasons why not to. Both you, and they, deserve the happiness that comes from mutually working together to improve life and do good.


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