Day 22: Service with a smile

About a month ago my friend, Elizabeth, invited me to go to a writer’s workshop hosted by writer Emily Freeman and singer/songwriter Christa Wells at the home of Emily’s sister, Myquillen, better known as “the Nester.” We spent a beautiful day in the Nester’s remodeled barn talking about writing and art and encouraging one another to create what God has made us to create.

The whole weekend was such a gift. I drove home inspired to pursue my calling, my art, and to encourage others to do the same. The workshop itself was wonderful, but the real gift came packaged in my sweet friend, Elizabeth. It was because of her hospitality that the weekend happened for me at all.

She thought of me. She invited me. She paid for my ticket. She gave me her guest room for 2 nights. She took me to dinner and gave me my first sushi experience. She drove me around, asked me questions, dreamed with me about what God might be calling us to write and create. And knowing I’m a tea drinker in desperate need of a quiet morning to myself, Elizabeth left this outside my bedroom door on Saturday morning:

(There’s a teapot full of hot, breakfast tea under that towel. Mmmmm….)

Think Elizabeth has the gift of hospitality? Me too. (If you don’t get the opportunity to be a guest in Elizabeth’s home, you might want to visit her blog, I’m sure you’ll feel right at home there, too.)

I suspect that giving away the gift of hospitality not only makes her recipients happy, but it makes Elizabeth happy, too. I’ll bet she doesn’t do it under duress or because she thinks she ought to or because someone is expecting it. I’m pretty sure she just does it because she wants to. I think it makes her happy!

So my question for you today is, when is the last time you served someone and you really enjoyed doing it? What were the circumstances? What did the person need? How did you help them? How did the experience make you feel?

And, by the way, thank you, Elizabeth!

Daily Journal Question: Have you ever served someone in a way that really made you happy? Write what comes to mind in your journal.

This post is part of a 31-day series designed to help you Discover Your Calling. To read the introduction and see the post titles in order, click here.

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