“Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
We all know that one spouse that seems like a living Pinterest board. They attend every FRG meeting, make the best signs, bake from scratch gluten free/sugar free/nut free treats for the soccer team every week, and they do it all while looking immaculate. When we meet that spouse it is really easy to wonder if anything we can do could possibly measure up to them (but you should nominate them for Military Spouse of the Year here!) And once our minds go down that track it’s a quick slide from “I can’t measure up” to “Why even bother to try?”
Why bother? Easy! Because even the Pinterest perfect spouse is going to have a need at some point in their life and you never know when you’re talent is going to be the one that fills that void. I love that MLKJ says that it doesn’t take a degree to be able to serve, all it takes is an open heart.
Sometimes all we need as military spouses is someone to be there to listen when the moving people screwed up the pick date for the third time. Sometimes we need another parent to put down on the emergency form at school since our spouses are gone so often.
This is one of those places where we should be celebrating the things that make each one of us so unique. Our talents, our skill sets, they all allow us to be there for friends and family in their times of need. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to call on friends to help when a car problem pops up. I know exactly what number to dial for that one friend that will come with a tool box, jumper cables or a jack the second they find out my car has decided to be a bit too temperamental for me to handle on my own. Cars are not my skill set.
Yet my friends know that when they need a proof reader for important essays that I am always on call. It may seem silly but they know they can rely on me to sit down and chop up their writing to help them get the results they are hoping for from a letter or even minor homework assignment.
All it takes to be someone that serves is the knowledge of what you are good at and the willingness to help when someone asks. And I know it doesn’t come easy to some people, but as much as you want to share your skills, sometimes you need to be willing to ask people to share their skills with you. Don’t be afraid to admit that there are things you need help with! It brings us back to that whole making connections things.
Knowing who you can call in your time of need really helps the military community feel more like a family. A large, loud, diverse family.
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