What's a Servie?

I was going to post this a few months ago, and felt that I needed to wait to share it. Now I know why. It goes along perfectly with LDS General Women's Conference tonight. Wasn't it AMAZING?!  If you didn't get a change to watch it, make sure you make time to do so.

So you have never heard the word "Servie?" Yep, I made it up!

Here's the story behind it:

Last fall, my husband and I took a trip that we had been anxiously anticipating for years. We discussed, researched, and finally planned what we were going to do and experience on this tropical vacation. Oh, the sights we would see and the people we would meet. I couldn't have been more excited!

Once we arrived, we began pulling out our cameras to take pictures of the beautiful people we encountered, and the gorgeous scenery and views. As the trip went on, we were shocked by how many people weren't taking pictures of what they saw and experienced. Instead, they were more focused on taking self-portraits of themselves-many using a selfie-stick so they didn't even have to go outside of their own realm to ask someone to take the photo for them.

As we watched throughout the course of this vacation, we noticed how most of these people were more focused on their own hair, clothes, facial expressions and how THEY looked, instead of enjoying the beauty around them, or seeing the potential needs of those in their midst. They missed the opportunity of meeting new people, learning about new cultures, and small service opportunities. 

This made we realize how much as a society we can get sucked into ourselves. By focusing only on what we are and have, we tend to become self-absorbed, and tend to end up unhappy and wanting more. If we instead look outward through the lens of charity, we will be able to see needs of those around us, help them, and also realize the many blessings we have been given. This allows us to feel peace and happiness that can't be attained through selfishness.