Service is Magical

One of my goals this year has been to provide at least one service a day. To this point, I have been successful. It's interesting to take time to reflect on this process up to now. There are days that I have to figure out something to do, but there are others days that an act of service seems to appear. I've come to realize that it doesn't have to be something that takes a great amount of time or means. Sometimes it's really just the small acts of service that can mean the most.
In this month's visiting teaching message President Uchtdorf said, "You wonderful sisters render compassionate service to others for reasons that supersede desires for personal benefits. In this you emulate the Savior. … His thoughts were always tuned to help others.” I do believe that service comes naturally to women, but I also believe that we lead busy lives and have to make a conscious effort to make time to serve. This is a critical practice if we want to live Christlike lives.This past week I realized the magic of service. We had the opportunity of having my eight month nephew stay at our house. As a result, this presented many opportunities for service. I feel this is one of the highest acts of service that can be rendered as there is not compensation given by the child being served. They can't give back time or acts of kindness, but they do teach you how to love. I was amazed at how greatly my love grew for him over this course of time. I was so sad to see him leave.
In this month's Ensign, Elder Holland talks of the great need of service, “True love blooms when we care more about another person than we care about ourselves. That is Christ’s great atoning example for us, and it ought to be more evident in the kindness we show, the respect we give, and the selflessness and courtesy we employ in our personal relationships.” Service is the key to forgetting ourselves. We are recipients of the perfect example of love, the Atonement. We have no excuse to not make time for service. Then in return, we are even more blessed when we serve as we discover the magic of service, true love.