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Serving from the Heart

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Living outside of your comfort zone

Wouldn’t it be nice if life always turned out just the way we planned? If every goal we set was achieved, if the path we lived out each day was predictable and able to be clearly defined? We would know what is coming, how it is coming and just how it would look upon arrival. Unfortunately, life isn’t and will never be that easy. One of the greatest components of the human experience is uncertainty. Those of us who confine ourselves to safely defined comfort zones, run the risk of missing out on the many gifts life has to offer.

 In Gifts of The Heart, Dr. Kareem Afram’s life is forever changed by a call to serve his country overseas in Afghanistan. After answering the call, training for about 8 weeks and bidding his pregnant wife goodbye, Dr. Afram sets out for Afghanistan.  Shortly after departing, he finds himself extremely anxious while being transported in a CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter. Unlike the “slick jets” Afram was used to flying back home, the aircraft shook violently and leaked constantly, leaving Afram in a puddle of grease and oil.

What great contrast! At one stage of his life, Afram flew in luxury serving others, but as his life progressed another stage called for him to serve in unflattering conditions. Our deepest callings in life will raise us to the highest of mountains, but we will also face deep valleys, and have some of the most stunning failures possible. Answering the call to serve others and our destiny through heartfelt living, courageous risk taking and endless understanding will place us in many different positions in life. Understanding that the vehicle to our destinies will not always look the same allows us to appreciate the mountains in life just as much as the valley’s.

While serving in Afghanistan, Dr. Afram develops a deeper appreciation for God and country, which leads to a deeper understanding of his life’s purpose. Ultimately the experience provides him with a divine encounter he would have never had flying through life in luxury. When we learn to appreciate every stage of life we, can serve others from a place of understanding and sincerity. Serving wholeheartedly will ultimately cause every need in our lives to be met. What you give in life is what you get, and those who serve from the heart, receive heartfelt repayments, often when they need them the most. Challenge yourself today to appreciate whatever stage you find yourself in. A famous passage of scripture challenges us in this regard: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Phillipians 4:11

 

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