Spiritual Reflections on the First Month as the Second Month Comes to a Close

My family has been completing a simple act of service every single day since the beginning of September.  As the second month of this project, which is rapidly turning into a way for life for us, comes to a close, I am reflecting on how this is hard, how this is easy, and, nomatterwhat, how this is worth it.

Before I reflect further on the end of two months of service, I wanted to share with you something that I wrote at the end of the first month.  It is more of how all this work has affected my family in a spiritual way.  More of how it has affected me spiritually.

(To understand a couple of references that I make to "the Spirit" or the Holy Ghost in my words below, you may want to refer to the following information on mormon.org  What is the Holy Ghost? or read the following article by Elder Richard G. Scott, a respected apostle in my faith,  To Acquire Spiritual Guidance.)

To me, basically, the Spirit is how our Heavenly Father can bring us comfort and assistance when we are faced with difficulties.  It can provide a feeling of peace and direction if we ask. 

Here is what I wrote after our First Month of "Pennies of Time"--

A month ago, I decided to complete a small act of service with my children, every day. 

Some of our favorite experiences that we had in the past month:  Leaving Ziploc bags full of coins at vending machines in ER rooms, taking donations for children who are homeless, picking up trash, taking breads and fruits to the fire station, writing nice notes, and befriending others. 

As anyone of us would have predicted, good things happened in our family:  We drew closer.  Serving together has definitely strengthened our family bonds.  When in a fight, my boys initiate the resolution and come to peace more often without me than with my help.  (Don't get me wrong, they still scuffle.  But, they work harder to be helpful and loving.)

The Spirit and a feeling of peace are more obvious in our home.  I feel prompted by the Spirit to do things for others that I wouldn't have thought were important.  Sometimes, it is very specific direction.  Other times, it is a question like,"Wonder if he is hungry?"  That particular question led to a meal, which developed a friendship, which led to a great experience for my family, and an opportunity to reach out to others.

There is no end to the positive, lasting effects that providing service can have.

At the same time, there were two experiences that surprised me.

The first was the unexpected changes within me.  I designed our ventures to teach my kids.  By the end of the month, I was surprised at how, daily, I felt a greater measure of God’s love for each of us.  And, I don’t mean a “God loves everyone” good feeling.  I mean several, daily, witnesses from the Spirit that were so strong that I had to stop what I was doing and reflect.  Often times, it would be so strong that it brought tears to my eyes as I caught a glimmer of the love that our Heavenly Father has for each one of His children.  That has changed me.  These witnesses of a greater measure of love have helped me with my own spiritual struggles.  Before this witness of a greater measure of love, I might feel a churning in my insides and a feeling of helplessness when faced with a struggle (yes, I have those).  I don’t feel that emotional and spiritual drain of negativity anymore.  I feel a love and a gentle prod to do positive things to change what bothers me.

The second surprising experience was that I saw that my children learned lessons about true sacrifice.  I found that my kids gained from giving, even when they experienced remorse due to feeling the loss of that “toy.”  When I gave my boys the space to give away a prized possession, even when I knew it was a favorite toy or belonging, I allowed them the freedom to make that sacrifice.   It wasn’t always easy to let them give away an important toy, something that they treasured.  A couple of times, the next day, one of my sons would express “missing” his toy.  As days went by, he saw that he missed it less and less.  He saw several days later that he didn’t even think about the missed toy.

How often do I withhold service because it requires true sacrifice?  I’ve thought about that continually since recognizing what was happening with my children.  That question really pushes my own level of service and helps me bring greater depth to my own knowledge of Jesus Christ’s Atonement.

We’ve continued with our “Pennies of Time” Adventures.  I am eager to have fun serving alongside my kids.  I am eager to see how it continues to shape who they are.  And, I am welcoming the surprises that I find within myself along the way.

Thus ended my written reflection on the first month of serving.  After two months of doing this, I've enjoyed reflection on our experiences, discussing with my husband how our family is changing, and I feel that I am continuing to change spiritually.