As I mentioned earlier, Journey Church reserved yesterday to launch what was called a “One Day Serve“. Simply put, the entire church body set aside their day to serve the needs of those in the church and out of the church. All over town, groups of people gathered to do yard work, paint, clean, trim bushes, clear brush, and split wood. All of this was in the name of doing what we are called to do…serve one another.

Due to schedule conflicts, our family only had a small window of time in the morning where we could serve. It worked out perfectly that there was an area 5K so we committed to serving however we could there. This was the first time I have been on the other side of a race. We got there early to set up flags, help with registration and get the course ready. It was such a shift for me. Such a different perspective.

When the race started, my girls and I were positioned at a fork in the race path to let the runners know to “stay to to the left” and encourage them along their journey. “The Boy” was positioned at the finish line to hand out awards and giveaways as the runners finished. While nowhere near the amount of hard work that so many others put in yesterday serving for Journey Church, wow was that wonderful. As is often the case when you serve others…

You receive the real blessing.

As all runners will tell you, there is something special about a smiling face, an encouraging word, an extended hand to slap “5” as you run by that lifts your spirits. It gives you something extra as you push past the struggle of the race. It lifts your spirits and, if only for a moment, takes your mind off of the pain. I cannot begin to express what if felt like to be “that guy” yesterday. To see the smiles through pained expressions. To know that your words were like the wind at the runners back. To share in the joy of people running their first 5K.

Awesome.

As the stories of those who served pour in, what you see is that at times being the one that serves and encourages is hard work. Sometimes you have to literally get your hands dirty. Sometimes it’s messy. Other times it is as simple as a spoken word or an applause for a job well done. Either way, it is what we need to do more of. You will be blessed.

What can you do to serve and encourage someone today?

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