Created to Serve
Serving doesn’t always happen across an ocean.
Sometimes it happens across a dinner table.
Sometimes it happens in a church nursery.
Sometimes it happens in a school hallway, in a neighborhood, or in the quiet, unseen moments of everyday life.
Over the last two weeks, I had the privilege of serving on my third mission trip to Kenya.
As always, I came home with a full notebook, countless memories, and a heart that feels stretched in new ways. But this time I also came home with questions. Questions I’m still sitting with. Questions God is still gently asking me to consider.
We Were Made for Community
One of the things that touches me most in Kenya is the deep sense of community.
Everything is done together.
Raising children.
Preparing meals.
Fetching water.
Helping one another.
Life isn’t lived independently—it’s shared.
People truly need one another to survive.
And honestly, I came home realizing how much I long for that.
Here, many of us live surrounded by people and yet still feel isolated.
We carry our burdens quietly.
We hesitate to ask for help.
We pride ourselves on doing things ourselves.
But God never designed us to walk through life alone.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2
Serving isn’t simply doing something for someone else.
Sometimes serving begins by allowing ourselves to belong to a community and choosing to live differently within it.
The Kind of Joy That Doesn't Depend on Circumstances
Another thing I can’t stop thinking about is joy.
I saw more true, uninhibited joy in Kenya than I often see here at home.
Not because circumstances were easier.
They weren’t.
Many people faced hardships I can hardly imagine.
And yet their smiles carried a joy that felt genuine and deeply rooted.
Their joy wasn’t dependent on having more.
It made me ask myself:
How do I find that kind of joy in my own daily life?
And maybe an even better question:
How do I share that kind of joy with others?
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.”
Psalm 16:11
Maybe joy isn’t something we chase.
Maybe joy grows when we stop focusing on ourselves and begin pouring into others.
Living with Open Hands
I also saw something else that challenged me deeply.
An abundance mentality.
Even with so little, people constantly shared what they had.
I never heard people asking for more.
Instead, their first instinct was generosity.
To offer food.
To welcome someone in.
To share what little they had.
And I came home wondering if I live with the same open-handedness.
Not because I suddenly feel called to give away everything I own.
But because I do feel God asking me to think differently.
To hold my time differently.
My resources differently.
My possessions differently.
My heart differently.
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”
2 Corinthians 9:11
Creating Space to Serve
When we think about serving, it’s easy to believe that it requires something big.
A passport.
A plane ticket.
Two weeks away from home.
But Scripture reminds us that serving begins much closer than that.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”
James 1:27
God calls us to notice people.
To care for people.
To serve people.
Not someday.
Today.
Maybe that looks like:
Checking in on a neighbor who lives alone
Volunteering at church
Helping in your child’s classroom
Bringing a meal to someone who is overwhelmed
Offering childcare for a tired parent
Inviting someone into your home
Helping a widow with yard work
Writing an encouraging note
Serving your family with more patience
The opportunities are all around us.
Small acts done in love become Kingdom work.
A Simple Invitation
This month, I’m asking God to help me create more space to serve.
Not just in extraordinary ways.
But in ordinary ones.
Because maybe serving isn’t about doing something impressive.
Maybe it’s simply making ourselves available.
And maybe when we begin serving others, we discover that God changes our own hearts in the process.
A Prayer for Service
Father,
Thank You for showing me what true love looks like through Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve.
Open my eyes to the needs around me.
Help me notice people I might otherwise overlook.
Give me a heart that is generous with my time, my resources, and my love.
Teach me to serve with joy and humility.
Help me create space in my life to reflect Your love through the way I care for others.
Amen.
A Question to Carry with You
Who might God be placing in front of you that needs to be seen, encouraged, or served?
Take a Step
You don’t need a passport to make a difference.
Choose one way to intentionally serve this week.
Volunteer
Reach out
Give
Invite
Encourage
Start small.
Because small acts of love can have eternal impact.
The same Jesus who washed feet, welcomed children, and cared for the forgotten still calls us to do the same today.
May we create space not only to hear Him, but to serve like Him.