A Lesson Learned: Serving from the Sidelines
I’ve realized something profound (or at least it is to me). One way that I can serve is to allow and encourage my husband to serve.
I’m not only selfish with my time…I’m selfish with his as well. When he’s not at work, I want him home with us! And when he isn’t…that just means (a) we don’t get to spend time with him and (b) I’m on my own with the kids.
As I’m sure you’ve heard, there was a huge tornado that ripped through Joplin, MO last Sunday. One of the nursing homes was hit and my husband left to help on Monday afternoon. He was gone all week helping out. Rather than whining and having a bad attitude (like I normally do when he goes out of town), I was glad he went.
I do admit that I had a bit of a panic attack on Tuesday night after being exhausted from watching the weather here all night with fierce storms all around us, struggling with the boy’s crazy behavior (weather-related I’m sure!) and then finding out that Joplin was under a tornado warning and Prince Charming was taking cover! But not enough to ask him to come home…
One of the ways I could minister to the people in Joplin, especially the elderly, was to encourage my experienced husband to go! After all, he’s the one who volunteered for the fire department in college and went through EMT training. He is way more qualified to help in a disaster relief effort than I am!
And what was his glamorous job while helping??? To fill the toilet tanks with water so that they could be flushed. And to wash the patient’s dirty laundry. Yuck. That’s one thing I love and admire about him…he is always willing to get his hands dirty and do the jobs no one else wants to do, regardless of the fact that he wears a suit to work everyday.
So in this season with young children, sometimes my ministry involves sending my husband (with my blessing and encouragement) to do the job my heart wishes we could both be doing…making a difference in the lives of others.
*PS- I wrote t his earlier in week and scheduled it to post. We actually went to stay at my parent’s lakehouse that is about an hour and a half from Joplin on Wednesday so that we could see Prince Charming in the evenings (hence my absence from the blogging world this week). My mom came the next day and stayed with the boys so that I could go to Joplin to help as well. We got there too late for the “safety training” with Samaritan’s Purse (which is required for liability reasons) and weren’t able to go out into the affected areas so we helped sort food donations in a warehouse that afternoon. Driving through town was sobering to say the least…I have never seen such devastation in my life. In the path of the tornado, everything was leveled. Please continue to pray for the people of Joplin!
I totally agree! Just like military wives are serving our country by holding down the fort while their husbands are gone, we serve our communities by holding down the fort while our husbands serve. Between the youth and running sound at church, my husband serves anywhere from 4-10 hours a week, and I'm glad to be able to allow him that time. Even if I'm not directly involved, I'm equipping him to serve, and I'm sure a lot of wives wouldn't be as generous with their husband's free time.
oh, wow! This really hit home with me! I don't think it was such a big deal when I only had 1 little girl but once my little boys(2 yrs. apart) came along, I go crazy if my hubby doesn't help out with them or is at least home w/me to give me some adult company in the late afternoon/evenings… :( I am VERY selfish with HIS time… :(
Thank you for volunteering in Joplin! I live in Neosho, just south of there and have many family members who live in Joplin and lost their homes. It has been a very difficult week. The out pouring of volunteers this week has been amazing and humbling.
I can't even imagine what those poor people are going through right now. My heart breaks whenever I read or see coverage of the aftermath. Thanks so much to you and your husband, and to all the volunteers, for the help that you've rendered. I have a constant prayer in my heart for everyone that was affected.
Thank you for this encouragement. My husband is an insurance adjustor who helps people when their homes burn down to nothing. He sees it as a ministry and I try to support him the best I can. Sometimes it is hard, but I appreciate your thought of letting him help IS my ministry too! He's been in Joplin for a week and like you, cannot describe the devestation. I hope that more wives will focus on letting their husbands serve and keeping a positive attitude too. :)
I too have often been frustrated that being a mother of small children prevents me from serving others as much as I'd like to. But just last week, I found this quote that rang true to me, and I think you'll appreciate it too:
"Mothers are given the greatest treasure any human can know: the knowledge that we do make a difference in someone else's life."
So even when we're NOT sorting food in Joplin, we're still making an incalculable difference in the lives of some very important, tiny people!