If you ask me what tool I cannot do without in my kitchen, it’s my cast iron skillet. There is something so comforting about having a dependable pan that cooks evenly and browns food to perfection without needing to read directions or plug it in. What makes it even more special to me is that it was my Grandma’s go-to skillet in her kitchen. I was always in awe of how we could stop by her house unexpectedly, and before we knew it, she had whipped up a massive meal with homemade bread and butter included. Isn’t it funny how particular objects just remind you of someone?
My Grandma, Colleen Ruth Person, was not a fancy person. She grew up in a small town in Indiana during the Depression and never moved farther away than that. Her father left the family, so she had to stop school around 8th grade to help pay the bills and take care of her brothers. My Grandparents only moved a few blocks down from her childhood home when they married. They lived in that house for over fifty years, right until she passed away in her home from cancer in 2004.
For such a simple woman, her funeral was anything but simple. The funeral home had to keep opening the rooms and adding chairs as people poured in to pay their respects. People came because she taught a children’s Sunday School class for many years and because they remembered her playing the organ every Sunday at church. They came because until she became too sick to drive, she picked up people not much older than she was to take them grocery shopping and get them out of the house for a bit during the week. More chairs were added because she always welcomed people into her home with a smile and a big meal, sharing everything she had. Walls were opened for the neighbors she checked in on every week, helping water plants, letting out pets, picking up mail, and just letting them know she cared.
My Grandma was certainly not famous. No one is going to make a movie about her life. She cared for the people around her, whether she knew them or not. She quietly cleaned the church each Sunday, fed those who were hungry, gave money to those who needed extra help, and always noticed if someone needed a word of encouragement. No, my Grandma was not famous, but she was faithful.
As a Pastor’s wife, it is easy to feel like perhaps we are not serving enough. Not all of us are the face of the church. Many of us quietly serve by making sure our home is a pleasant place for our family, and being our husband’s rock when serving broken people is just too overwhelming. We fold bulletins, create graphics, slip out the service to comfort a mother whose baby is fussing, and guard the door so the Pastor can have just a few moments to review his sermon again. Most of us will never be famous in our role as the Pastor’s wife, but we can be faithful.
In Matthew 25:35-36,40 Jesus tells us, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. The King will reply, ‘Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” When I look at this passage, do you know what I see? I see a Pastor’s wife meeting the needs of the people around her because she wants to love like Jesus. Jesus’ list of loving him looks awfully like our day-to-day lives, doesn’t it? Be encouraged by that! While the day-to-day serving might not feel glamorous or, let’s face it, some days even impactful, if we serve faithfully with hearts wanting to please God (2 Cor. 5:9; Rom. 12:1-2; Gal. 1:10) he will use it. God has placed each of us in special positions both in our families and our churches to impact those around us with the gospel through how we meet their needs. Be encouraged that your faithfulness will bring blessings (Prov. 28:20; Deut. 28), more opportunities to increase the kingdom (Luke 12:22-24; Matt. 25:21), and will be a light and example to those around you (Gal. 5:22). I will always be grateful for my Grandma’s example of faithful service. Service was an outpouring of what God had done in her life. I Samuel 12:24, “Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.”
Taking it further: List how you serve your family, church, and community. Praise God for each item on your list and how He uses it for your good and His glory. Think through your overall attitude as you serve. Are you generally joyful or unhappy about the things on your list? Repent for any bad attitudes about serving you might have. Look up as many verses as possible about serving and choose one to memorize.
For a book on having a Biblical heart for serving, try Serving Without Sinking by John Hindley.
