So the first project is done. It was a relatively simple one. It involved rousting the troops out of bed at the untoward hour of 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning. There were more than a few grumblings and just a little begging and pleading for "Five more minutes, Mom!" but on the whole they were pretty happy to get up.
We piled in our van and headed north toward the Mesa Temple. Our mission: to help remove some of the thousands of Christmas lights that had adorned the grounds of the Mesa Temple for the holiday season. We love the lights; I don't think we've missed seeing them once for all of the eleven years we have lived here. So it really was a long overdue opportunity for us to help. We packed every coat, hat, scarf and mitten we could find. While we were driving there, Dave tapped the outdoor temperature reading on the van (34 degrees...which is like ten below for a group of Arizona residents) and shook his head. "Don't tell the kids," he sagely advised.
This is what I love about any kind of service: whatever frustration, hesitation, or trepidation you feel at the outset, it cannot compare to the pure happiness that fills you when you put aside whatever else you would rather be doing and engage in something that adds something, however small, positive to the world around you. Whatever grumblings existed in that early morning drive to Mesa dissolved little by little with every strand of lights we untangled. This was such a small and simple thing, but its amazing what wonderful opportunities come out of such simple acts.
Something I have already noticed about this project is that it has me thinking more about others and less about myself. Even in small ways. It also makes me pay attention to all of the service I already do; and is done for me in turn. Service is really an expression of love. It is living love.
On the way home, Dave and our oldest son swapped Chuck Norris jokes, and our six year old sang Elvis. The car was filled with laughter. Really? Because we took down some Christmas lights? No, it had to be just a little more than that.
We piled in our van and headed north toward the Mesa Temple. Our mission: to help remove some of the thousands of Christmas lights that had adorned the grounds of the Mesa Temple for the holiday season. We love the lights; I don't think we've missed seeing them once for all of the eleven years we have lived here. So it really was a long overdue opportunity for us to help. We packed every coat, hat, scarf and mitten we could find. While we were driving there, Dave tapped the outdoor temperature reading on the van (34 degrees...which is like ten below for a group of Arizona residents) and shook his head. "Don't tell the kids," he sagely advised.
This is what I love about any kind of service: whatever frustration, hesitation, or trepidation you feel at the outset, it cannot compare to the pure happiness that fills you when you put aside whatever else you would rather be doing and engage in something that adds something, however small, positive to the world around you. Whatever grumblings existed in that early morning drive to Mesa dissolved little by little with every strand of lights we untangled. This was such a small and simple thing, but its amazing what wonderful opportunities come out of such simple acts.
Something I have already noticed about this project is that it has me thinking more about others and less about myself. Even in small ways. It also makes me pay attention to all of the service I already do; and is done for me in turn. Service is really an expression of love. It is living love.
On the way home, Dave and our oldest son swapped Chuck Norris jokes, and our six year old sang Elvis. The car was filled with laughter. Really? Because we took down some Christmas lights? No, it had to be just a little more than that.
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