Slice of Life #4: Serving others

What does serving others mean to you?

I was at church this morning and listening to our pastor talk about giving to others--even those that you might not know that well. It made me thing..... I help my family, I help and work overtime with my students, I might even pick a fallen item on aisle at the supermarket and place it back on the self, but how often do I really reach out to those that I don't really know? Probably not very often.
As our pastor challenged us to find "our six" to pray for and to bless during the time of lent, I had to think. But wait, it actually wasn't as hard as I was thinking: there is an employee at my school who is having a hard time, and I know she could really use a blessing right now. There is another teacher who is always willing give a Diet Coke when the day calls for that. What about the specialist that often drops a small bag of homemade cookies on my desk on the days that she is at my school?
So, what am I going to do? I just came home after a trip to two grocery stores. It was Diet Pepsi for a couple of teachers and Diet Coke for a couple of others. There are some snacks for our next meeting and a surprise snack bag for one very special person at school. I might not eat lunch with these colleagues, or hang out with them after school, but I can definitely pray a blessing for them and surprise them with a few munchies in the coming weeks. After all, we all have the same goal; reach our students, help them succeed (and improve test scores across the board).
If you, my fellow blogger, happen to read this, may  you be blessed with the words of this Irish blessing:

May God give you….

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.