A Call To Serve Selflessly

Well, I finished a book on my list.

The book I finished (obviously) was Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. It is a book I was more than ready to read and embrace.

This book is a call to service. Biblical service. Service to husbands and service to children. Most importantly service to God. Not only a call to service, but a call to selflessness. A call to follow the example of Jesus Christ. The example of laying down my life for another.

This book was encouraging to me right now because the Lord has been leading me in this very direction for several years now. He's been asking me to follow Him even when those around me may question what I am doing. He's been asking me to follow Him even when folks make valid sounding arguments about not losing myself in others, not being a doormat, about letting others control me. He's been showing me His life and asking me if I could live like that, selflessly, as a servant to His sheep.

I have taken a small step toward that in saying yes. Yes, I can serve others, I can be selfless toward those I love. Toward my husband, toward my children.

It's counter-culture. Even, dare I say it, in the church.

If I say, yes, I can be a servant toward God's sheep and view the sheep as people outside my family that is looked upon as noble. I am sacrificing great things for the the Lord. But wait a minute...what or who am I sacrificing? I am serving the sheep in the neighboring pastures. But what about the sheep in my own pasture? The kids who just want a book read to them, who need to have the safety and security of Mom being close by. What about just tending the pasture to make sure that there are no weeds growing up in it or other plants that can make the sheep ill? What about the husband who is out in the world doing battle and just wants a safe and sane, warm and secure place to come home to?

I can not possibly get into the depth of explanation here, in a short blog posting, of why my focus at this particular time of my life, needs to be my husband and my kids. There are numerous Bible verses I could quote to you (Eph. 5:21-33, Titus 2:3-5, Proverbs 31 are just a few) and arguments that I could make to try and convince you. However, the authors of this book have already done that.

Suffice it to say, I have been called. I have been called to lay down my life for others. I have not been called to go to deepest, darkest Africa. I have not been called to move across the country. I have not been called to even move down the street. I have been called to serve right in my own home, with my own husband, with my own children.

I may not ever get any recognition. I may not get much thanks. But I will know that I have done what God called me to do.