Step Outside of You
To serve. It doesn’t seem to make sense that the third piece I consistently put into my own healing is meeting the needs of others. (In case you missed it, you can still read about my first step and my second step.) This is most noticeable on days when I look in the figurative mirror and recognize my own broken beginnings. When I step outside of my own self to meet the needs of others, I rarely experience burn-out. Rather, I am often energized and experience my own strengthened walk of faith and healing.
It's an unlikely place to experience healing. The world around us tells us to “self-care.” Typically this is interpreted into self-indulgent activities. I rarely discover healing from more “me time,” rather I find myself deeper and deeper in the twisting hole in my head. When I venture out of my own head, this is where I have experienced the greatest amount of healing. Truth be told, when I entered into my existential crisis, I was a volunteer with middle school students at my church. I was emptying fast of all I had to give. It was within this context that I broke down. Notice the importance of this! I was serving with others who, when I fell, were right there to pick me up.
Serving brings us to community. These are people who will lift you when you fall. They will meet your need for compassion, camaraderie, & comic relief. I’ve made some of my best friends by serving alongside them for a common mission and goal. You can also bring those closest to you in community with you. Bring your spouse, your children, family, and friends. By unifying our different, smaller communities, it makes our one community stronger.
Serving reaffirms our values. When I was barely hanging on, attempting to hang onto the few threads that remained, I couldn’t tell you what mattered to me. I saw sad things all around me, but they didn’t phase me because I was so sad myself. Passions were lost. By stepping out of myself, I have rediscovered (and, in some cases, discovered) my true heart to fight for others.
Serving is an opportunity. Yes, you heard me right. I believe God has gifted each of us uniquely. Even to tap into the personality craze, MBTI, Enneagram, DISC, and others all point to our uniqueness. So how selfish is it to keep these giftings and talents to ourselves? Rather, we have an obligation to use our gifts and talents for the greater good.
Obedience is different than a feeling. When I ask my son to clean his room, I am not interested in his feeling. I don’t expect him to respond with a deep calling; rather, I expect him to respond with a cheerful heart. God gives us the same opportunity to respond in obedience. I’ll finish with my favorite verses from Hebrews. I love how we see the community which went before us as an example. I love the passion and abandon to run with perseverance. And even as these verses finish, we are reminded not to grow weary or lose heart. Press on tirelessly, for God will meet all our needs as we serve outside of our own little world.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
— Hebrews 12:1-3
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