What Have I Done for Someone Today?

My thoughts on President Monson's talk "What Have I Done for Someone Today?"

I loved this talk. I felt like a grandfather was talking to me. He wasn't lecturing me, but telling me how to live my life so that I could be happy.

I'm a strong believer in service. I know that is how I best show those I love that I love them. If my children want to say "I love you" I would rather they clean up the kitchen or their bathroom or their bedroom without being asked than say it or write it. I would much rather they put in a few hours of yard work than walking the mall trying to come up with the perfect Mother's Day gift for me. My saying is "If ye love me serve me."

I thought it was a hollow statement when the Bishop or High Councilor or the Relief Society President would get up and say, "We pray for you and love you." I thought how ridiculous. Well, I was put in my place about 10 years ago when I was asked to serve as the Relief Society President. I learned really fast that those you serve and pray for you soon love. Even those you may never have met. I found that those names on the rolls who would NEVER let me in their door were the ones that I learned to love the most. I will never think those words are hollow any more because they aren't.

As my ability to serve has diminished and my need to serve has grown, it has been really hard for me to accept it. But as I have learned recently that I need to allow others to hold us their baptismal covenant to and be served. I have to strip away my pride and let people see me at my worst: dishes piled high, laundry not done, piles of paper work, school work and "stuff" all over. I have learned that others need to bare my burdens. This is truly how the Lord shows his love for us.

"We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes."

"My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us."

I remember thinking as a child that if the Lord wanted something to be done he could just do it. After all didn't he part the Red Sea? But that isn't how the Lord works. He needs us to bare each other up. He needs us to fill the warm fuzzy jar. He needs us to feel the love and warmth of serving others. He needs us to feel connected to Him through serving His.

So what did you do today?