Notes from the quiet time files 110607

But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Luke 22:25 - 28

Today I dropped off the cookies at the new offices of our fund-raising branch. Actually, at one of their new offices: the unit is scattered in several buildings across campus until the new administration building is built. It took an inordinate amount of time for Julie to come to the reception area to take me downstairs. Their new offices are a several minute trek down the stairs, through several corridors and a conference room, to a back corner of the windowless lower floor.

Yet this group of four women is responsible for recording every single contribution we receive. Operating revenue, program funding, endowments and scholarships all derive at least some of their funding from donations. But processing gifts is considered a support function, and resources are scarce, hence, the back-room nature of their offices in a newly renovated building.

It's difficult to be part of support services. You see what you do as vitally important - and oftentimes rightly so - but you receive none of the attention and resources given to your more visible and "mission-critical" colleagues.

But the job must still be done.

Cultivating a servant heart takes work, a voluntary stepping into the shadows to take up the often messy, noisy, unglamorous tasks that no one else willingly does. It's offering to staff the nursery during the one-performance-only Christmas pageant; leaving for church well over an hour early every week, in order to place the roadside signs that point the way to the service; weekly cleaning the house of a friend who has a chronic illness. A servant heart doesn't wait to be asked to help, but steps in wherever it sees a need.

Forgive me, Lord, for often chosing to turn a blind eye to those needs. Let my heart be willing, and my hands able, to serve in the shadows.