Earlier in the week, I asked my small group if they had ever done any service projects before coming on this trip. Many had not. How many of you fall into that category?

Serving is such an important part of being a follower of Christ. We follow, and we serve. We love, and we serve. We have faith, and we serve. This isn’t something we do just for volunteer hours, good karma, or a ticket to heaven. That’s not serving the way Jesus asks us to. He calls us to serve with zero expectation of credit. In fact, when He was on earth, He served and in turn, He was brutally killed by the very people He came to serve.

When I was younger, I started to notice a pattern in my life. As a teen, I went on three mission trips to Mexico and had a great time but honestly, my attitude was selfish. I wanted the great experience. If I had heard the trip wasn’t going to be amazing, or that I wouldn’t get to do the project I wanted, I wouldn’t have gone. Or I would have gone with a terrible attitude.

I’ll admit, I still struggle with this. I often choose to serve when it’s fun, convenient, or fits neatly into my schedule. Rarely do I do something solely out of a desire to serve God.

During our week on Serve, I had to change my attitude. I wanted so badly to be strong, high energy, and the best example I could be. But there were moments I had to admit weakness. I felt embarrassed when I burst into tears in the middle of the Grand River on a dinghy that spun in circles and never seemed to catch the current. Yet, those were the very moments I bonded most deeply with the youth.

God calls us to serve willingly and wholeheartedly, but He doesn’t leave us stranded in two inches of water, stuck on the rocks. He takes those humbling moments and turns them into something good. I’ll never forget laughing (and still crying a little) with the girls later about the whole adventure.

Service isn’t about our convenience, comfort, or control. It’s about saying “yes” to God and trusting that He can use even the stuck, messy, frustrating moments for His glory. And in the end, those moments often become the ones we cherish most.