Serving Makes Me Feel Good.

Last week in one of my physical therapy classes my teacher asked us if we agree with this statement:

Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?”.

My answer was this:

"I agree, serving people brings the most happiness, especially when it is not convenient. It helps you keep your priorities straight. I think naturally when we help people our time and tasks don't get neglected, but somehow our time is magnified and expanded. "

I truly believe this and I have been putting it into action this semester.

I remember in one of my sociology classes at BYU we discussed theory by a man named Bauman who believed that there is no such thing as unselfish service because even in doing something selfless our ego's are effected and therefore the self gains something as well (or that is my interpretation of whatever he really said). I think I have to agree with the guy, and don't think that diminished an act of service in the least bit.

I've been praying for opportunities to serve. I am in a time of my life where school can absorb all of my time and I allow it to take most of my time. However I don't want to fall into the trap of being lost in myself. There is a time to study, and there is a time to look outside myself. I believe that as I do this, I will actually be more successful. More importantly charity is the pure love of Christ, and nothing should be more important to me than a Christ-centered life.

Take this week for example. Two of my instructors are teaching a 6-week Intro to PT course. There are 35 students enrolled and that means these two are on campus from 7:30am till after 9:00pm several nights each week. I went to campus on Monday night for 2 hours and got to help do the blood pressure skills check offs for half of the students. It made my day long. It meant I took 2 hours of studying time to sit and listen to a bunch of "lub-dub" sounds and watch people obliterate radial pulses. I could have gone to a pool party. I could have had a real dinner instead of tater tots and a slushie from Sonic. It mean I could have gone to be earlier because than I would have been up later getting other stuff done. However, it also meant my instructor could have a bit of breathing room. It meant I walked away from campus with a smile on my face for a productive evening. It meant opening a door for a future professional relationship. It meant a lot of things.

Than today I took a friend out to lunch who was just having a bad day. I wanted to go home and study, but she was more important. So instead of 4 hours of Neurology, I did 2. I don't regret it one bit though. Those 2 hours were the most productive 2 hours I've had with Neuro this semester. I have a long list of things to keep reviewing and learning, but I feel confident that it will all work out.

I'm not trying to brag or say- look how wonderful I am! I sincerly hope this is not taken that way. I'm simply just amazed at how sometimes giving your time pays you back 10-fold. It almost doesn't seem fair that I should benefit from trying to be selfless. I'm grateful for that added blessing though. In my world, time is a precious resource, but I am willing to sacrifice it for the moments of clarity and calmness that I have been given this week. But more importantly, I hope my time made a difference in someone's life.