© 2009 Sara Blackstock
© 2009 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| The Role of Emotions and Feelings on an Evolutionary World | Volume 10, Number 1, 2009 (Summer) — Index | Ten Lessons from the Vineyard |
A Living Metaphor for “… the divine fire of the will-to-service” [UB 48:6.34]
_Note: The following is a talk given to the General Council in 1995 and at the Fellowship International Conference, 2008. _
This experience is dedicated to Jim and Pat McNelly−the two brothers who helped us understand the value of worm composting.
At our school-age day care center, we support green by training the kids to recycle glass, plastic and paper, and to compost our garbage. A little while back we forged into the realms of worm composting where worms eat garbage, turning dirt into rich compost while getting rid of leftovers at the same time. Our worm bin was thriving. We would put our snack vegetable leftovers in and a few days later they would disappear. And from the other end of things we would gather the worm castings which are excellent fertilizer for plants.
We spent some time setting up a really good worm bin−newspapers, dirt, one hundred squiggly red worms, and water. We added weekly our snack leftovers of celery, apple cores, etc. As the kids and I worked on this project together, I saw develop right before my eyes, a living metaphor, and after this experience I culled some principles of service out of the worm dirt. You might want to see if you can spot ten principles of service−keeping track on your fingers, as I tell you the story.
We had been away for a 4-day weekend. When we came back on Monday we opened the worm composting bin and discovered to our horror that not only was it too dry, but that the food from the snacks had not been stirred in so it sat there on top of the dry worms, fermenting and smelling.
Needless to say, something needed to be done immediately. I gave the kids some spoons to stir the stuff on top in, but it turned out that the spoons were not long enough to do much good. There was only one thing for us to do—reach in with the bare hands. None of them wanted to do this, and as they held their noses they looked at me, so I rolled up my sleeves.
When we began this process it looked as if we may have lost our whole worm population, as we began to pull comatose bodies out one by one. But we said to each other, “If the dirt was stirred and wetted, then the little critters might just come alive. We can save our worms! Let us not give up! There was a great stir of energy as these kids saw a critical situation, and they could make a difference. They got some squirt bottles and we got into a rhythm as the energy intensified to save our worms.”
I would reach down to the bottom of the bin, bringing up the dry dirt along with a few listless worms in my hands. I would hold them in my hands while the kids aimed their squirt bottles of water at the unmoving worm bodies, full of breathless hope they could be revived.
After one kid said: “I saved more than you did”, to another kid, I had to prevent them from arguing over which one had saved the most worms. The joy that was felt in the 4’by 4’ space when a comatose worm would stir after being squirted was measurable. And to top it all off, one rather serious kindergarten boy said, with a perfectly straight face, “That smells like champagne!” and of course the fermenting fruit did have a touch of such an aroma.
So what does this worm bin experience have to do with service? I doubt that this falls into the category talked about in Paper 131: “All good works of true service come from the Supreme.” [UB 131:8.3] But I also think our celestial friends have a wonderful, playful sense of humor and have keen “joy sensors”.
We read in Morontia Life Paper 48 what the ministering reserves can do for ascending mortals: they can kindle “… a divine fire of the will-to-service.” This phrase really caught my soul’s eye, because the energy to save the worms became a metaphor for this “… divine fire of the will-to-service.”
For a few moments allow me to present the following fifteen principles of service which I dug up from the worm bin experience; it seems that all of them apply to us as individuals, and most are applicable to us as a group of religionists dedicated to this fifth epochal revelation:
Stay grounded.
Do what is right in front of you to do, serve where you are first, then look off to the more exciting heights. It is enticing to look for service in more glorious places than our own back yard.
Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and get dirty. Don’t fall into the trap of becoming armchair servers from our high philosophical places, thinking that we can serve with just our thoughts, our revelations, while the Mother Teresas of the world are doing the work with their hands and their sweat. Our families and the world need our hands as well as our revelation. Plus getting dirty is humbling, and it keeps us grounded in the reality of this planet. There is a lot of dirt in our world.
Every little thing counts. Look how many times Jesus went about doing good—a smile. He smiled at those whom he passed by.
Involve those around you to participate with you in serving. You don’t have to do it alone. Give others a chance to experience the service exhilaration, the joy from the “… divine fire of the will-to-service”.
Water the dry ground with the true water of life and love wherever you go.
Know and understand why you are serving: to meet your own needs? To look good? For others to see? Because we are supposed to?
Be diligent and check conditions around you often to see if there is something needing to be done. Don’t let the garbage build up.
Do not take yourself too seriously.
Know when to stop serving. Some kids got caught up in the process of squirting the worms and almost drowned them after they had revived them.
Keep the priority of relationship always in mind. Was the really important thing the worms? No, but some kids began fighting over who made the most worms come alive. The important thing was the relationship between the kids―the working together on a project. That was really the priority.
Serve joyfully, and with a sense of humor. At one point the kids and I were almost rolling on the floor with laughter. And the ones standing on the sidelines watching had unplugged their noses and moved closer to see why we were having so much fun.
Respect diversity in service. Some of the kids did not want to come within three feet of the worm bin, but they were willing to fill the squirt bottles.
Keep perspective and variety: We could stay at the worm bin stirring and squirting just so long, and then the rest of life called us on to school, etc. The activities on the worlds of the local system headquarters stress the importance of variety—work, progress, play, service, study, and relaxation.
Be spontaneous, allowing the “the divine fire of the will to serve” to burn brightly without fear of consequences or what others will think.
We can feel this “divine fire of the will-service” in our very souls. The Adjusters are dispatched for mortal service from Divington carrying the embers of this divine fire.
Sara Blackstock has been working with children for 35 years as a credentialed teacher and as a director of a large school-age day care center for the last 22 years. Currently a parent educator and consultant and trainer of young adults on quality relationships with children, she also teaches yoga to young children.
| The Role of Emotions and Feelings on an Evolutionary World | Volume 10, Number 1, 2009 (Summer) — Index | Ten Lessons from the Vineyard |