Lessons in Service

This past week I've had two good lessons in service.  Apparently I need to learn about service don't I? 
   The first came Thursday while I was at the cannery.  About 2 weeks ago I got email reminding me that I'd signed up to work at the cannery for 4 hours.  In the past whenever I've gone to the cannery I've either gone with Derek or with friends - so that cannery was no big deal, didn't feel like service, and kind of fun.  Not a party by any means - but not bad at all.  This time was different.  It was a Thursday afternoon so Derek had to work and I didn't have any friends I knew going.  I got the email, and a sense of dread set in.  I just was really not looking forward to 4 hours of work, with a to-do list I'd rather be doing.  I'd think about the cannery every day, and just dread it.  To be honest it took me a week to email the guy heading up to tell him I was in.  I knew I was available that day, and I knew I'd end up going, I just didn't want to commit to it I guess.  So I finally emailed him back and told him I would go.  He immediately emailed back simply saying, "well done thou good and faithful".  I immediately emailed him back and asked if I was going to have any friends going ... I was really trying to find something good about this.  He answered saying he didn't have the list with him but, he assured me, I would have "the companionship of the spirit of service".  The spirit of service wouldn't want to ride with me or talk to me for 4 hours!
   Thursday came and I was simply glad it was finally here (a little overdramatic of me, I realize).  So off I went to the cannery - not thrilled, but there.  I got there and saw that I did have friends there, and lots of others from my ward.  It's always so inspiring to see people you know at the cannery, the temple, doing YM/YW, activity days, visiting teaching, etc. - just people in the act of service. 
   I got put on the assembly line working with a billion pears and a lady from my ward, that I don't know very well, worked across from me.  We talked a little, and I must have said something about  not loving being at the cannery.  She said, "I'm just happy that I'm volunteering at the cannery, and not the one who needs the cannery".  It really struck me as poignant.  Of course she was right.  I am blessed to not need the food from the cannery - how stressful it must be for people who need the cannery to feed their families.  Derek has a job that provides for our family.  Feeding my kids is a huge stress and worry I don't have.  And I am blessed with a healthy body that can work - can stand for 4 hours at an assembly line taking bruises off pears.  I am so fortunate to be able to work at the cannery, not need the cannery, and help others who are not as fortunate.
    Next time I'm at the cannery I hope I remember her wise words - I am lucky to be volunteering there.  I shouldn't see it as a chore, but as a way to help others, as well as realize my own blessings.
   The next lesson came today.   A month ago the sign up list went around our ward for families to sign up to clean the church.  Now, unlike the cannery, I don't mind cleaning the church at all.  It's quick, it's great service, and my family does plenty to dirty the church - so sign me up.  I had signed up for today - Oct. 5 - not realizing at the time that that would be the Saturday of General Conference.  About a week ago I realized that I we were supposed to clean the church on Conference Saturday.  Great ... I thought ... there goes my cinnamon roll breakfast and there goes my time to get a million conference activities prepared for my kids.  I didn't want to clean the church on Conference Saturday.  I tossed the idea around of calling the guy in charge and seeing if I could switch weeks.  Happy to do it any other week ... but Conference Saturday is kind of an unofficial holiday right?  I thought about calling him all week, but just couldn't muster the courage.  I felt like a squeaky wheel, and I felt like why should other people clean the church when I'm not willing to.  So in the end I never called.  And then in the 24 hours before we went to clean I started thinking that it might not be so bad ... getting us out of the house a little could be great (I really start to climb the walls Conference weekend with being home so much, with the TV on, and all of us in the same room for so long) and a little physical activity couldn't hurt either - get some wiggles out before a TV marathon.  And then I thought, isn't this exactly what President Monson would want?  For us to be doing service?  Isn't this what I was going to hear I should be doing while watching conference?  Here I know what I'm going to hear I need to do, and I'm trying to get out of it in the name of Conference??  And I realized that doing service, 2 hours before Conference was actually a wonderful thing to do to prepare for Conference - way better than cinnamon rolls, and way better than the "Color the Ties of the Apostles" I would be home printing.  Serving was taking what I've heard a thousand times at Conference and turn it into doing.
   So at 8:00 I was off with my 3 youngest kids (Derek and Tyler were in SLC to attend Priesthood session - Tyler's first Priesthood session and he gets to go!  Definitely a post in it's own right, but just in case I never get around to it!  How awesome is that?  His first time to see the prophet too!  I couldn't be more thrilled for him.) and we were off to the church.  We vacuumed and dusted and straightened Hymn books for an hour and it was all done. We had a great morning serving and cleaning the Lord's house.  We topped it off by going to get doughnuts before heading home to watch Conference.  There was no big awesome breakfast this morning, and I wasn't all the way prepared for Conference when it started, but I was so happy that we started our morning with service. 
   I'm not committing myself to anything, but doing a service project of some sort before each Saturday session of Conference would be an awesome tradition. 
   Though I apparently I have a lot to learn about service, I'm glad this week I was able to learn some.