acts of service

for the past 7 years, brad and i have participated in a small group through our church. while faces have come and gone, it has meant so much to us to "do life" with fellow christian couples in our community. our current study is on the five love languages of God. based on the original marriage study the five love languages by gary chapman, this one examines the concept not only for couples, but how the same concept applies to our relationship with God. last night's lesson was on acts of service. when we perform acts of service for others, we are doing them for God and demonstrating our love for Him. similarly, when we receive acts of service, it is one of the ways God shows His love for us.

this message came to life for us today.

while brad was at work today, he was talking with one of his employees outside a building. out of the corner of his eye he saw a man trip while walking on concrete. his feet flew up, his head flew back, and he landed on his back, cracking his head on the sidewalk. when he didn't get up immediately, brad ran to his side. he appeared to be having a seizure and brad couldn't get him to respond. brad honestly thought he was watching someone die. sending others for help, brad knelt by the man's side, tapped him gently, and called out to him until the man acknowledged him. he was bleeding significantly from his head and kept trying to sit up once he realized what was going on. the paramedics finally arrived and after a bit of arguing, the man agreed to go to the hospital to get checked out. while he didn't receive a verbal thank you from the man or his wife, i know that brad was serving God through his actions today.

conversely, i was on the receiving end of an act of service.

on my way to pick up mason, i called brad and we talked through the plan for dinner. turns out, we were missing a key ingredient for the chicken fettucine alfredo and a stop at the store was necessary. and we all know how much i love to grocery shop. i didn't have time to stop before picking up mason, so we went together to grab the few items. a few turned into many and soon we were pushing it in terms of mason's dinner schedule. the beginnings of a meltdown started at the check-out counter, so i retrieved him from the cart and held him. he refused to get back in when it was time to go to the car. needless to say, steering a cart full of groceries with one hand, and holding a 22 pounder in the other is not an easy task in 3 inch heels. we finally made it to the car and i began unloading - while still holding mason. a woman whipped into the parking spot next to mine and jumped out of her car. i'm not sure what made her take a second look, but before i knew it she was helping me unload the cart, lifting cases of water into the car. i was nearing my wit's end at that point and mason had clearly passed his. thank you God for the kindness of strangers.

of all the things that happened today, having our family give and receive acts of service made the highlight reel. what a blessed day.

funny quote of the day: "don't worry, he doesn't have aids or anything" - injured man's wife after seeing the blood involved.