How are you serving these days?

I recently had lunch with a friend who I had not seen in a while and one of her first questions was, "How are you serving these days?". My heart smiled because community and service are important to me. I proudly shared my board work with Impact Church and Fugees Family, Inc., as well my recent experience serving with my #BankofAmerica teammates on a Habitat for Humanity International house build.

The conversation reminded of the impact that having an opportunity to help build a home had on me. It was very different from my experience serving on boards thru the years. Both are very rewarding; however, serving on boards no longer “scares” me and I walked onto the homesite knowing that I had never built anything on a service project other than personal care boxes for women in transition. To truly LIVE, I think It’s important to do things that scare you from time to time, so I SHOWED UP. Home improvement work wasn’t completely foreign to me; I consider myself handy and actually own power tools. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, I have ONE drill and a very powerful Vitamix that makes great soups and drinks. When I arrive at the home site, I quickly learn that my power tool experience would not come in handy because I would spend the day installing windows and hardie plank siding with an old fashioned hammer and nails. Not only was it 90+ degrees, but the work was exhausting; however, I loved it. Not only did I get to meet the homeowner who told me about the fence she planned to build for her 10 year old daughter and great volunteers that I plan to keep in touch with, but I also appreciated the lessons.

Lessons Learned While Hammering

1. When your first approach doesn’t work, make informed adjustments

   Installing the siding without a nail gun felt impossible, a few people even stopped trying. I actually contemplated it; however, after watching a few experienced people I realized that it was more about technique and less about strength. Over the course of the day, I earned the nickname, “Hammer Queen”.

2. Gratitude is always a choice

   Let’s be honest, serving isn’t always “fun” while you’re doing, however, when I step outside of temporary discomforts, I recognize that I am incredibly blessed to be able to serve. I had been having issues with my rotator cuff; however, I noticed that the pain was non-existent that day. Although I was up on a ladder hammering on a hot summer day, I chose to be grateful that I was able to do it pain free. I choose to be grateful because I know that everyone didn’t have that choice.

3. Perfection is not always the goal, it’s okay to mess up sometimes

   I first heard that lesson over a decade ago while toiling over the umpteenth version of a deck. It is a lesson that I have referenced a number of times over the years and surprisingly came up after I had some problems installing window trim. Jorge, are experienced volunteer came over the help me and I commented how impressed I was with him knowledge and skill level. He smirked and told me that he only knew how to correct errors because he had already made countless errors. Thru those error he learned and then taught me how to fix common mistakes and how to simply have fun thru it all.

There is just something about service. So, how are you serving these days? If you are not, I invite you to serve with me!