Service is Really Neat!

The past few days I've been thinking a lot about service. I recently received an assignment as a missionary that has got me, and will have me serving a lot of other missionaries in the area. I think of the Savior, who said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25). It's so easy to get caught up in ourselves and to worry about our own problems. Life is really hard! There are a lot of worthwhile things that all fight for our attention. And if we are not careful, they can become a distraction from the needs of others, and we forget about loving and serving our fellow man. Service is a really funny thing. A lot of times its really hard, and its things that we don't want to do. It often requires sacrifice, mainly of our time. But it's when we are able to forget about ourselves and our own time and interest, and "lose our lives," in the service of others, we are able to develop true charity. We are then able to comply with the Savior's command to "love one another" (John 13:34).

I have definitely seen the effects of that as I have served a mission. The times when I have been happiest are when I am not thinking about myself, and I am worry about the needs of others, both physical and spiritual. As I stop thinking of myself, and stop thinking more about others, I am happier. The Savior's seeming paradox is true! When we "lose our lives" by forgetting about ourselves, we find a much happier and more peaceful life. On the other hand, the most miserable times and days of my mission have been when I am focused on my own needs and concerns. There is never enough time to do all the things that I want, or to have everything that I want to have. And when I am focusing on those selfish desires, I feel disappointed and angry because I just want more and more and more. But when we are able to forget about ourselves and the things that we want, we are happy, because we realize that we do have all the things that we need, we do have a good life, and that in comparison, the problems we face aren't as bad as they could be. I know that service develops charity, a Christ-like love for the sons and daughters of God. It leads us to happiness, and it is for that reason that it is a commandment. Service truly is pretty darn neat!