Spending Time.

Trevor posted earlier today about spending some time with his Grandmother as her time on this earth nears the end. It helped me to remember a few minutes I had the opportunity to spend some time with my father-in-law before he passed away on Christmas Eve. He had been battling cancer for the past year and finally succumbed to the disease. It was a fitting day to move on for a man who enjoyed the holiday so much.

Watching him struggle with the disease and watching his family come together to care for him taught me a lot about what true service is all about. My wife along with her brothers and sisters spent the last couple of weeks staying with their mom to help care for their dieing dad. I am sure they experienced some difficult moments as they watched their father dieing, but from my distant vantage point I felt honored to be present to some of the most meaningful service work I have ever experienced. It was also an honor to be present after he passed on to see how the neighbors, friends, and other family came together to serve the family with food, kind words, their presence, and prayers. Knowing that my father-in-law had lead a life of servant-leadership, it seemed fitting that those whose lifes he had touched the most would come together to play it back with their own acts of service.

There is much that can be learned about the art of service in the tough times. The secret to learning them seems to be in finding ways to stay through the pain and spending some time. Thanks for the reminder Trevor.