Serving with Joy

"Serve the LORD with gladness;
         Come before Him with joyful singing." 

Psalm 100:2

Each Monday night during the late fall and winter months, our church takes part in a ministry called Room in the Inn. We are one of many churches in Nashville to provide dinner, showers, a warm bed, and breakfast for those who would otherwise go without. Thom has volunteered a few times with Vanderbilt, but we have not served as a family.

Tonight our Sunday school class provided the meal and ate with the 25 men who were our guests. For the first time, our family served in this ministry together. We joined more than 10 other families in the preparation and serving of the food. With joy, I watched Katie confidently walk into the kitchen of adults and ask to help serve. She helped fill the cups with ice, handed me plates to load with lasagna, and helped serve the guests around the tables.

Thom and David ate with a few of the men and enjoyed conversation with them. I had the opportunity to talk with one guest as he shared about visiting family in Mississippi for Christmas. After dinner, we all listened as Thom led the group in a devotion based on scripture from Psalms. (Okay, if I am honest, I will admit our kids had slipped out of sight into a corner of the gym and I was holding my breath, praying things wouldn't go south with a loud argument. Just being transparent!)

As for David, I watched with joy as he played well with some of his friends, which doesn't always happen at the end of the day or in a large, unorganized play space. When I asked him about the experience at bedtime and he talked about playing with the other children and playing basketball. He grinned and said, "I was wild, swinging from things...but nothing broke." What more, if you are the mom of David, can you ask for?