Are YOU making excuses?

I recently have been making an effort to be more involved. More involved with Church (the actual service), in our church outreach activities, in helping the community and in local programs for my children. I have been getting such a blessing from it, which has lead me to wonder, why wasn't I doing this before?!?!

The answer? I was making excuses. I was too busy because I worked full time. I had small children at home. I didn't have time. I was too exhausted to take on more. I couldn't do it. The time wasn't convenient for me, and on and on went my long list of excuses. Don't get me wrong, most of my excuses are valid, I wasn't lying, all the things I used to get me out of taking part were true. I did work full time, I do have small children, am exhausted, my time is limited and it wasn't always convenient.

The one excuse that obviously wasn't true? I couldn't do it. I discovered that I can! I can do almost everything I am asked to do. If it's not something I have done before it's probably something I can learn. I was underestimating myself by using that excuse. I was not allowing myself to live up to my full potential. Now that I am involving myself in more and more I am realizing I can do many things I never would have thought I could and I can do them all at once! I can be organized and manage my time. That is a another trait I always told myself I didn't possess.

Of course now that I am becoming an involved person, I am looking at others who are still making the excuses I used, very differently. While I know that they too are honestly busy, and have many valid excuses for ducking out when asked to participate in something, I now realize something. We are all too busy! Bottom line, we all either have small children who require out constant care, or older children who need drives to their many activities. We may work full time or have previous commitments that we feel use all our time and resources. However if everyone is too busy, then who is going to volunteer their time for all the activities we love to attend?

If everyone is too busy then who will run the sports programs for our children? Who will run youth groups? Who will volunteer to help the homeless or needy? Who will run community programs for our families, or attend them? Who will pick up the garbage that litters the side of your neighbourhood road? Who will help the person who's car is broke down on the side of the road? Perhaps more importantly, what will happen to our humanity? To our sense of community? What will happen to loving your neighbour and serving others?

If no one takes the time to make the time in their busy schedule, to do something for others then we will all be missing out. We will lose the sports programs our children love and the youth groups that teach them such important lessons and connect them to our churches. We will lose our sense of community. Perhaps we will be the ones stranded on the side of the road watching as car after car goes rushing by with the drivers never giving us a second glance, a second thought. However the most important thing we will lose out on is the blessing we receive when we serve others.

When we take the time (even if it's time we really don't feel we have) to involve ourselves in something, anything that is for the benefit of someone other then ourselves, we are richly blessed. We were made to serve others. No matter how much we feel we are sacrificing by giving up our precious time for others, I promise there is so much more to be gained.

I have a much deeper sense of purpose in my life. At the end of the day I feel I have accomplished so much more, and more that is worth while. I'm not claiming to be involved in a million different things. I have taken on what I have been asked to do. I help with the church youth group, teach sabbath school every few weeks, participate in church service a couple times a month, try and get my kids out to the local playgroup as much as possible and have recently made a habit out of regularly donating food and clothes to the local soup kitchen and women's shelter. When I reflect how much time these activities really take out of my life, I have to be honest, the do not require that much. I receive double the blessing for what I give in time and energy.

I hope that this will inspire someone else out there to take a baby step and get involved in something. I promise you won't regret it as long as it's done with a cheerful and willing heart. If everyone would take the time to do even one small service or act that would benefit someone other then themselves I think we would all find that there would be a lot of neighbourly love and sense of community restored to society. Who doesn't want that?