Blessed To Be A Blessing
This summer, the entire Wilbern family had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala on the mission trip with our church. We went there thinking we were going to serve others, but as is so often the case, God had plenty in store for us too. There is something pretty special about serving the Lord together as a family. At home, life gets busy, work, school, sports, activities, phones, schedules. We can easily find ourselves running in five different directions. But in Guatemala, for a few days, we were all doing the same thing. We were there to serve.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
That verse always sounded good hanging on a wall, but it means a little more when you’re standing beside your husband and kids, covered in dirt and sweat, working together to help build a home for another family. And I’ll admit, there were probably moments when we all weren’t quite as enthusiastic about the dirt and sweat, but that’s part of what made the experience so meaningful. Our kids got to see what really matters. One of the greatest blessings of the trip was watching our kids experience a part of the world very different from their own. Guatemala has a way of changing your perspective. Our family saw families who may have had far fewer material things than we do, but we also saw tremendous joy, faith, gratitude and love. We also learned that serving isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes serving God looks like carrying supplies, swinging a hammer, getting dirty or simply spending time with someone.
Jesus tells us: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” Mark 10:45
That’s a lesson I hope sticks with our kids long after this trip. We went to bless others and were blessed ourselves. One thing I’ve learned about mission trips is that it’s difficult to tell who’s actually serving whom. We traveled to Guatemala hoping to be a blessing to the families we met. Yet the kindness, gratitude, generosity and faith we experienced from the people there blessed us just as much. Maybe more. That’s one of the beautiful things about how God works. When we give our time and talents to serve our neighbors, He often uses those same experiences to work on our own hearts. We were reminded that the Church is much bigger than the building we worship in on Sunday morning. We may speak different languages, live in different countries and have very different daily lives, but we’re connected by the same Savior.
Our kids won’t remember every devotion we’ve had or every conversation we’ve had about faith. But I hope they’ll remember what it felt like to serve another family together in Guatemala. I hope they’ll remember the smiles. I hope they’ll remember the gratitude. I hope they’ll remember how little we really need. I hope they remember why we serve others.
We don’t serve to earn God’s favor. We already have His love, forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. We serve our neighbors because of what Christ has already done for us.
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
What a blessing it was to serve alongside my family and church family in Guatemala.
Kelsey Wilbern – New Member Coordinator
