Heart to Serve

This is my very first blog post and I must admit, I’m a little (ok, A LOT) nervous about sharing in this way. I told some friends, it’s kind of like that dreaded dream where you are totally exposed in public with no way out…yep, that’s how I feel. But I have felt God increase my burden to encourage those serving leaders in ministry and honestly, in any environment. Through years of serving high level leaders in both the secular world and in ministry, I have heard, seen and learned so very much. But, likely the most important thing I’ve learned is that serving others is more about the condition of your heart than anything you could do to help those you are serving.

Serving others is more about the condition of your heart than anything you could do to help those you are serving.

Years ago when I began supporting leaders, I was a broken emotional mess. I was riddled with insecurities, lived on a constant roller coaster of emotions and was just clueless about how to handle things in a healthy way.  I only knew that as long as I could remember, I had a desire to serve others and do things that made others’ lives easier and better. I would listen intently to others’ conversations and pick up on things that I heard them say they would “like” or “needed” and I would do everything in my power, even as a child, to help deliver. But when this desire to serve others is wrapped in insecurities and confusion, it results in living for acceptance from those around you, and that’s where I lived for years. If those I was serving were happy, I was happy. If they were angry, I beat myself up because it must have been something I did to result in their anger. If they were in a bad mood, I was in a bad mood. If they laughed, I laughed. If they ranted in anger, I joined in. If they disliked someone, I disliked them and on and on and on. That path led me down a road of sheer exhaustion and chaos.

But one day God grabbed ahold of my heart and literally stopped me in my tracks. He carried me, because I was too weak to walk, on a journey that I resisted but desperately needed. He began to show me my true identity and that my heart to serve was a gift that should be protected and stewarded well so that He could refine me to become the leader He had created me to be. See, all great leaders are born out of great servants, and I desired to do something great for God. The lessons that God taught me along the way were difficult ones to learn but were truly life-changing. So, if even one person is encouraged through this blog then this faith step will be well worth it. To know that nothing in your past, present or future can stop you from fulfilling the call that God has on your life, if you’ll live in complete surrender to Him, is such a peaceful freeing feeling. His plan is the BEST plan and believe me, it will take you places you never dreamed you could go. Are you ready? Here we go…