Every time the Lord has a great blessing for me, He gives it to me after I’m serving Him. The first time I remember it happening was when I met my husband. I was in my early 20s, and I was given a priesthood blessing. In it, God told me I should seek to serve in every way that I could, because that was how I would meet my husband.
Meeting my husband
True to God’s word, I met him exactly as He said. A friend was going out of town, and she usually taught Sunday school. She asked me to cover for her, and that one Sunday I taught was the one Sunday my husband was visiting our congregation. I had also been serving as a temple worker during our time dating and being engaged. And that connection to the Lord helped me keep my covenants. (Keeping the law of chastity is difficult when you’re engaged.)
A few years later, we were struggling to have a baby. The doctor said we only had one option left, IVF. And we didn’t feel it was the right thing for us to do. So we got another priesthood blessing, this time from our Bishop. In the blessing, the Lord said He needed our service and that as we served Him, He would give us a baby.
The very next week, my husband and I were asked to join the leadership of one of the first Young Single Adult congregations in the Philadelphia area. It was the beginning of two and a half years of wonderful experiences. We made lifelong friends. And then out of the blue, we found out we were pregnant.
Blessed with our baby
My husband was so shocked when I told him I was pregnant that he broke the handle off the storm door on the way out as he went to work. It was so cute. He had acted all cool and unaffected until that moment. And then I knew that he was as surprised as I was.
I still remember the shock on the fertility doctor’s face. She kept saying, “You did this all by yourself, you did this all by yourself.” But I had to correct her. I did nothing but serve God, and He did the rest. My body was broken, and only God could fix it. My son was truly a miracle baby.
In my experience, every time we need a great blessing, the Lord grants those blessings as we seek to serve Him. I have a friend who is slogging through a difficult divorce. And she recently got a blessing where the Lord counseled her to find chances to serve. I’ve watched her light up again as she finds new joy through her service to the Lord.
Serving God brings miracles
So, how can we find opportunities to serve God as we wait for His blessings in our lives? Of course, there is serving in the Church, but I’ve learned some great things watching my friend. She loves plants, and yard work is her happy place. The other day, she chose to help a neighbor with their overgrown flower beds as her act of service for the day. She left fulfilled, and the neighbor felt loved and seen.
Service comes in many forms. And all of them bless God’s children. A beautiful teaching is displayed at the Welfare Square Cannery in Salt Lake City, UT. It says:
The work you do in the cannery is the same as the work you do in the temple. The only difference is, in the temple, you do the work for the dead, and in the cannery, you do the work for the living. At the temple, you make your covenant,s and at the cannery, you keep them. All things were spiritual before they were temporal. Therefore, all things are spiritual.
God is Love
As I have pondered the significant gifts the Lord has given me that always followed service, that quote is truly moving. I see the connection between God’s love for all His children and His admonition for us to love and serve one another.
Spencer W Kimball taught that “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.” And as we serve, we become God’s hands, blessing His children.
There is something beautiful about service that brings peace and joy to your heart. That peace, that love, is the spirit of God. He is eager to bless us for every effort to come closer to Him. So if you are looking for miracles in your life, seek opportunities to serve God and watch His love expand your life.
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