Days to Serve

How can you use the days God has given you to love and serve others?

Hmmm... I wonder.
How?

Let's see: a while back I was really hyped with making, writing, drawing on, and coloring homemade cards for people- birthdays, funerals, and so on. It felt good to make those cards, and good to give them away, and very good (and flattering) when I happened upon one of them magnet-ed to my Grandpa's fridge- the card I'd given to him at Grandma's burial.
And those cards did take up a few of my days. Sitting down and thinking of an idea, brainstorming, writing, erasing, drawing, erasing, writing and drawing and erasing again. I felt- pleased with them, too. Not just the cards themselves and how they looked, but with making them for someone else, to encourage and inspire through a dreary storm or happy day.
I felt good for serving others and showing love with my cards.

But I don't think that's quite it here.
Oh, definitely not.

So how can I use my days to serve and love, love and serve?
Not by sitting on the couch for hours on end, that's for sure.
Not by grumping about all the effort it takes to make people happy.
Not by using every second for self-pleasure when I could be using them for pleasing others- reading my favorite book instead of helping Grandpa tend the garden; watching a funny Internet video instead of helping Dad stack the wood; starting a new round of a computer game instead of playing a board game with my sister.

No. Certainly not.
And while I must strongly admit that I am a professional self-seeker and couch potato, I do long to serve. Deep down in my core, my gut, my heart- maybe buried by a couple too many tortilla chips and mermaid videos- I ache to serve. To see smiles and hear laughter. To feel the firm happiness in handshakes and sweet appreciation in hugs.

To serve others-
and to serve God. 🍂