Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

I used to serve in a ministry for orphans and widows called Mercy Ministry. Once I was part of a team bringing rice to a widow who was very poor and disabled.

The elderly woman that we were visiting wanted to visit with her friend, but it was too difficult for her to walk due to her disability. A Korean man picked her up and carried her out of the house and all the way to her friend’s home, which was a long way down the street. 

In this situation, he was literally carrying her burden. His desire to make this woman’s life better also made a powerful impact on me. 

I served with this group for a few years. I was so impressed seeing people give their time and their money to help others. I’ve never been very good at serving. I tend to be a bit too selfish and if I’m honest, I don’t even always notice when someone needs help.

Serving with this group opened my eyes to the needs of others, and I found that I received a lot more than I gave.

One day my husband asked me if I remembered the first day that we met. When I couldn’t remember, he shared that the first day we met was serving with Mercy Ministry. I didn’t know him personally back then, but I told him that my fondest memory of that time was seeing a Korean man carry that elderly woman.

He smiled and told me that he was that man.  God blessed me tremendously for serving. It led me to my husband.

Galatians 6:2 reminds us to carry each other’s burdens. Service is one way we do that. My husband did a “small” thing that made one life better.

Soon we will have an opportunity to serve others in our community through Chatham Serves.  These somewhat small things we do via Chatham Serves are ways we can lighten the burden of our neighbors. My small group is planning on doing a project together.

There are so many different ways that we can serve. We can build, weed, cook, listen, clean, create, lead, organize, or even be a writer for a church devotional.  Through our service, we are fulfilling the law of God.

Whom do you see who is burdened in some way? How is God leading you to help that person bear their load?