Hurricane Katrina pounded the US Gulf Coast with relentless ferocity for 8 days in August of 2005. It caused an estimated $125 billion (or more) in damage — including the destruction of 300,000 homes — across 90,000 square miles of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. More than 1,800 people lost their lives during the storm.
The White House Office of Faith estimated that 550,000 volunteers flocked to the area in the hours, days, and weeks following the storm. In the second year following the storm, another 50,000 people were added to that number as people continued an unparalleled show of support for those impacted by the worst hurricane in recorded history.
I live in a city 1,700 miles from the hardest-hit area, yet organizations near where I live were the first to respond with relief supplies. 14 semi-loads of food, water, and other life-sustaining items were deployed within hours of the call for help with millions of dollars of additional supplies and tens of thousands of volunteers to follow.
It’s one of those periods in US history that reminds me what has made the United States of America such a wonderful place to live. The selfless service given by so many inspired and humbled me.
I remember watching from afar, wishing I had the kind of job where I could just drop everything and go help in a crisis.
It’s true that grand gestures of service like this require a measure of sacrifice from the giver. Given the numbers involved, it’s possible, even likely, that some among the ranks of volunteers quit or lost jobs because of their service.
On an unusually warm day in October, my youngest son played his last basketball game of the season. We arrived a few minutes late, and as we approached the school where he plays, a woman approached behind us carrying a large number of items awkwardly perched in her cradled arms. I pulled the door open and stepped aside to let her in, quickly following her to open the second door.
“Thank you,” she said. “I definitely couldn’t have done that today.”
Of course, if I hadn’t been there, she would have figured it out. People have a remarkable ability to conjure solutions to problems on the spot. I’ve been in her situation before, and have carefully used my foot to hook the door handle and fling it open. She also had the option of setting her load down, opening the door, then holding the door with her body as she collected her water bottles, blankets, and purse.
The service I rendered is less remarkable than the service rendered by those 600,000 people who served the victims of Katrina. It’s the apparent disparity in the luster and publicity of the service that often causes us to lose sight of the fact that opportunities to serve others abound every day.
I didn’t save that woman’s life by opening the door for her but I did make her life a little bit easier for a brief moment. Service, after all, is simply an act of helpful activity.
Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” is probably the most quoted statement on service ever spoken. I also like this statement from Charles Gill, “There are many wonderful things that will never be done if you don’t do them.” And, for those who believe in God, the words, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God”¹ will likely resonate.
The reality is that service isn’t hard. What can be hard, at times, is recognizing when we’re actually serving someone else. We look at service given during terrible disasters and lose sight of the fact that service opportunities exist everywhere. We serve coworkers when we go out of our way to compliment them. We serve family members when we pick up a dish that they left on the counter. We serve neighbors when we say hello to them on the street or stop to talk to them in the grocery store. We even serve others when we choose not to engage in conflict even when their opinion differs from ours.
In the past, I’ve engaged in meaningful reflection on my day which included two important questions:
- What is one way that someone served me today?
- What is one way I served someone else today?
In my reflection, I would take a minute or less to write down the answers to those two questions. I was often surprised by the thoughts that came to mind.
One notable example occurred a few years ago when I was on an early morning run with a friend. We were talking about things of great importance to us. Something my friend said pulled a core memory from deep in my mind that struck a surprisingly tender chord. Turns out, running hard and crying harder don’t go well together. I ugly-cried in front of my friend; something that few people have witnessed. I was momentarily embarrassed for myself until I remembered how much my friend loved me. Embarrassment fled faster than we had been running, as we paused on that dark stretch of road.
That experience became a new core memory for me. I’ve reflected back on and written about that moment many times.
My friend had no idea that his comment would stir so profound a response from me. After that, he didn’t have to say anything. His presence alone was a simple, yet remarkable, act of service.
If you’re struggling to recognize the service you give for what it is, I invite you to take on the two-question challenge and ask yourself every day, “what is one way that someone served me today” and “what is one way I served someone sle today.” I think you’ll be surprised just how often you’re touched by the small and simple things of everyday life.
¹ The original text for this quote can be found here.
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