Working around my house has gotten to be an interesting adventure. No matter what I am doing, whether it is folding laundry, washing dishes, or cooking (especially if I'm making cookies), my two-year old daughter comes running and announces "I wanna help!" Now, my definition of "help" and her definition are two quite different things. From my point of view, having Deborah "help" means that I am stepping over her or around her, wiping soapsuds out of my hair, cleaning up after a bag of flour has been dumped out onto the table, answering a gazillion questions, and folding each article of clothing at least twice. Deborah, on the other hand, simply thinks "helping" is being involved in everything I do to the fullest extent that I will allow her to be (and she often wishes that I would allow her to "help" more). I am highly flattered that she wants to spend time with me, and I appreciate her willingness to try to make my job easier. I am also painfully aware that she is watching every move I make and is constantly learning from me. What I appreciate most, though, is the lesson her attitude has taught me about my participation in the church.

My daughter usually doesn't check to see what I am doing before volunteering to assist me. In fact, many times, the statement "I wanna help!" is followed by "Whatcha doing?" She doesn't care what the job is; she just assumes that I need her help. We need many, many more Christians in the church with that attitude. Too often when a project is presented to the congregation, we will analyze it to death to see what the bare minimum is that we can get away with doing. We slump back in our seats and try to see if others will volunteer first. If we do agree to help, we begrudge the time taken out of our busy schedules or complain about the way the work is organized. Sometimes we may think that the work is beneath us or, on the other hand, that perhaps somebody better qualified can do the job more efficiently than we can.

All Christians should be vitally interested in all of the work of the church. Although men are directed by the Lord to have the public roles in the church, there is much that we as ladies can do. The prophet Isaiah had an excellent attitude for us to emulate: "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." (Isaiah 6:8) At that point Isaiah didn't know what God wanted him to say; he just knew God wanted someone to do work. God doesn't actually need our help any more than I really need my daughter's help. However, God in His wisdom has appointed the work of the church to mankind, as shown in I Corinthians 1:21: "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." Whenever we see something that needs to be done, we should be there saying "I wanna help!" serving God with "all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind" (Luke 10:27). -29 Flora Drive, Bedford, OH 44146. Drkenney@att.net

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