Service...

Life is interesting in many ways...by that I mean, it's funny how certain things happen in your life...things that make you really think. For example, last weekend (or maybe the weekend before) I watched "The Blindside". Without giving away too much, I came away with a feeling of "what can I do to help someone". Maybe it's just that time of the year where giving is in season...who knows.

Earlier this week, we received some sad news from my boys' scoutmaster. One of the guys that was working in the scouting program with him passed away Tuesday evening. (My boys don't go to the scouts in our ward -- instead they attend scouts at the building where we would be attending if we were in a palangi ward--we attend a tongan ward.) I am forever grateful for them allowing my boys to be part of their scouting organization. Also grateful for the men that give their time to teach and help these young men.

On Wednesday night, we had our YW Christmas party. We wanted to give the YW something--we made treat bags and then bought gloves with the following story:

Doers and Dreamers
The woman who slouched in the seat of the bus distressed me. Her hair was matted, her face dirty, and though it was a cold night outside, she was wearing only a flimsy cotton dress and a blanket through which she had torn holes for her arms.

What should I do? I wondered. She was so obviously in need. And at Christmas time, too. Wasn't there some shelter I could direct her to, some place where she'd get all the attention she required? No, I finally reasoned, her problems were too much for me.

As I pondered and rejected possible solutions to the woman's plight, the bus came to a stop. A young woman poorly dressed but neat, rose to leave. She had got out and the bus started up again before I really noticed what she had done. She had slipped off her gloves and laid them on her lap.

All these events have left me wondering, what can I do to help others? With 2010 around the corner, I am going to make a commitment to get my family more involved with serving others. Grateful for the every day life lessons learned.