I’ve been trying to have a whole new perspective on things lately. With COVID running rampant, things changing rapidly with our life, this season of life has gotten hard. The thing that I have been trying to focus on is how can we serve others in times of hardship. It helps in a variety of ways. Serving others brings joy, it takes the stress off of our own lives, and most importantly it fills up the love cup. Hallie Lord once said at a conference that I attended last January, that “The more you pour love into something, the more fear will be forced out.” And I feel with the state of the way things are right now, fear is becoming more prevalent for a lot of people.
Pouring the love that you have into serving others is a beautiful thing. Recently we had some close friends over, and they are going through the same hardships that we are and then some. I offered to cook an entire meal plus dessert for all of us to take some pressure off for them. It was nice to visit and just discuss life and enjoy each other’s company for a night. At the end of the night, I felt so happy that we were able to spend time with one another and just really grateful for their friendship.
I’ve been thinking of some other ways that we can serve others in times of hardship.
- Write them a letter letting them know you’re thinking of them in the hard times that they are going through
- Call them and let them know how much you appreciate them.
- Fix a meal or even send over a bunch of freezer meals so that they don’t have to worry about dinner
- Go for a walk with them so you can both get fresh air and they can explain the situation to you
- Bring them cookies – cookies always help trust me.
- Babysit – if they have kids, this is a huge blessing
- Pray for them – its nice to know that people are thinking of you in times of hardship and prayers help.
- Send them flowers or a surprise gift – even if it seems small and innocuous, it will brighten up their day
Prayer is so important in times of hardship and stress. To bless others with the act of prayer is so, so special. To ask for those intentions for those who might not necessarily feel comfortable asking God for help, I find that it is an honor to be charitable and to ask God for their intentions.
Pouring love unto others and serving them in their time of need is so important right now. Not just as friends or acquaintances, but being able to connect with other human beings during this chaotic time of COVID makes everything feel just a little bit more back to normal. Avoiding people forever is just not possible nor is it sustainable or good for your mental health. People need people y’all. That’s just the facts.
The more you pour love into something, the more fear comes out – Hallie Lord
And that’s kind of a great thing.
