My first memory of volunteering took place in South Korea as a new bride during our initial assignment. I said yes and helped at the wives’ club events and at Church, teaching religion classes. I found it to be a great way to meet others, and it felt good to help make a difference.

What I never expected was to discover more about myself in the process. I noticed that I was pretty skilled at specific tasks that were useful to the organizations I served. The more I shared these strengths, the more they grew.

Before volunteering, I had no idea that I possessed these talents.

The Officer’s Wives Club needed a volunteer to edit and find filler content for its monthly newsletter. I had no formal training or degree but stepped up. It became the catalyst allowing me to try my hand at writing. I began writing short, humorous stories about life as a military wife and mom living abroad. This led to a funny stick I created for an outgoing General’s wife and her numerous guests when I brought to life the “Loo Fairy” and the comical, poetic tale of her involvement in bathroom remodeling. I learned that I was amusing in print and in person.

My creativity began to blossom when, out of boredom in a third-world country, I created an exercise class with energetic music. I later taught cake decorating classes that many wives attended. Thus, I discovered I was good at teaching. When we moved to England, I built my own cupboards by learning how to handle power tools. If I could imagine it, I could often make it happen.

Who knew?

God did. I just needed to step up to the opportunities He set before me.

A decade later, all that volunteer experience came in handy when I was hired as a youth minister. All the while, God had been slowly preparing me through various volunteer experiences and hardships to learn to rely on Him. Together, we created retreats for hundreds of teens and their families over the years, from wandering in the desert as a member of the twelve tribes to leadership training on the beaches of Coronado.

I had a knack for drawing and leading volunteers. God continually placed people in my path whose gifts complimented mine. By working as a team, we gave glory to God every time we shared the talents we were given. In turn, and through encouragement, they began to discover their own unique strengths and the joy that comes from sharing them with others. We planned and executed incredible events that brought people together and set the stage for meaningful conversations about faith. Later, I discovered that I had an aptitude for orchestrating significant events surrounded by good food. “If you feed them, they will come,” became my motto. And come they did to all sorts of occasions where they were welcomed, included, and satisfied in body and spirit.

In every single instance where I said yes to God by sharing the gifts He gave me through volunteering, He provided exactly who and what I needed to get the job done.

I was never left hanging or abandoned to fail. On the contrary, as I look back, it becomes incredibly clear how much God was at work not only through my volunteers and me but also in the hearts of those we were serving. I cannot begin to explain the benefits I received from working with so many wonderful people, as together, we made the impossible possible.

God is so good. In saying yes, I get to participate in some modest way in advancing the Kingdom of God. While I have had the honor of being a momentary presence in thousands of stories and lives, it was I who gained the most. I have treasured friendships, experienced God’s work in the lives of others, and learned the value of vulnerability required to love more deeply.

I am saddened by the reluctance of most people who refuse to volunteer when asked to help. If anyone had an excuse for being too busy to volunteer, it was me. Yet, in saying yes, there was a remarkable paradox that occurred in which I had plenty of time for everything. It’s as if God expanded my day to accommodate all my duties as well as my willingness to help Him by helping others.

Believe it or not, God provides for those willing to share.

I submit to you my experience of over forty years of volunteering in a variety of organizations, both secular and Church-related, to dispel any fear that might otherwise paralyze so many from making a positive difference by sharing their gift of self.

I invite you to seriously consider your many talents, both known and yet to be discovered, and to pray about where God might be calling you to volunteer.

There is nothing so worthy nor provides better lessons than freely sharing what was given without cost from above. Families can volunteer together and grow in gratitude by serving those in need. Friends can schedule opportunities to make a difference together. Individuals can be change agents, transforming the world for good, one person at a time.

Don’t be afraid to be the difference that makes the difference. You’ll rediscover yourself, make new friends, and work in cooperation with God, making the world a better place.