When Ye Are In The Service Of Your Fellowbeings, Ye Are Only In The Service Of Your God

Because my husband is an electrician, and he's the owner of the business, any scrap wire that comes from the job ends up at my house. Right now I have this pile of wire sitting inside my garage. And while I HATE having it there, I know it's potential value. Mark had started stripping the plastic/rubber on it in November, but hardly made a dent. Some of it is pretty thick which means it's really stiff and hard to work with. He has a heater that runs on diesel fuel that he uses to warm up the garage, and he also uses it to warm up the wire. As we do not have any income coming in right now, I wanted to get this wire stripped so we could get it recycled and get some cash.

Mark's brother Alan is the bishop of a young, single adult ward. He spoke to the Elder's Quorum president and they decided that it would be a good service project for them. So today, Alan, his son Brian, and 4 elders from his ward showed up ready to strip. Mark got dressed in his work clothes, boots and all, and headed out to the garage. He was surprised that I had already pulled the cars out and started the heater. The garage was already warm. He's so cute when he's proud of me! Anyway, he was out there in the thick of it with them. He was showing them how to run the wire in front of the heater and then how to use the knife to strip it. I was out there trying really hard not to be the bubble-wrap around Mark, but there was a lot of coiled up wire and a concrete floor. All I could envision was him getting his foot tangled and falling over and hitting his head. I know I drive him crazy, but I can't help it. He has NO idea what I went through for 4 weeks (and still), so he doesn't understand the gravity of protecting his head. I digress. They worked for an hour and a half, cleaned up and went home. I was just getting ready to make them lunch when Alan said they had to go, but they'd be back Wednesday night and again on Saturday morning. Mark asked Alan what we needed to pay them for their time. Alan said, "Nothing. This is a service project. It's good for them." Mark said, "How did you get them to volunteer for this?" Alan said, "I told them it was service or speaking in sacrament meeting. Works everytime!"

After everyone had left and things settled down a bit, Mark said, "That was a great day. I really enjoyed being out there and participating in that."

Mark and I laid in bed tonight talking about all the help we have received and continue to receive. I remember when we were first married being upset that Mark served others so much. I was selfish with him and wanted him to myself. I always told him he was "giving away the farm" because he would use whatever means necessary to help others, even if we didn't HAVE the means. He has always had that "service" heart and mind. There was ALWAYS someone he was helping in some way or another. Whether he pulled over to help someone on the side of the road (that's a cool story for another day), helped someone fix their car or wired something for free. At one time he even befriended a little girl at the end of our street who didn't see her father much. They were such good friends. He even took her to the Daddy/Daughter dance at church and later introduced her to her husband. That's my Mark. Unselfish and giving. And it's coming back to him 100 fold. I'm ashamed to admit that I was the selfish one. It's not that I NEVER served, because as I've "matured" I've become a better server. But I'm on the receiving end of this service, as well. And for ALL of it I am profoundly grateful.