When my mother told me that we were going to move and stay at my grandparents’ house for a while, I remember trying to muster some sort of excitement, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t excited about moving all my stuff, and I was already thinking about not being able to have my own room anymore.

Of course, I really didn’t have any choice but to surrender my own selfish worries. Little did I know that I was about to learn three lessons about unselfish service that changed me completely.

YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO SERVE

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our own pool of worries, struggles and complaints that we unconsciously drown out opportunities to serve. Back then, I didn’t think about how the move would give me the opportunity to spend time with my Lolo and Lola. I realized that I didn’t have to think about the inconveniences that I thought staying at their house would cause. Over time, it has become clear to me that staying with them is an opportunity to give service, and I have the capacity to do so.

President Dieter F. Utchdorf said, “There are so many people in need whom we could be thinking about instead of ourselves…There are so many ways we could give service. We have no time to become absorbed in ourselves.” We can swim up to the surface of that pool that is centered around only ourselves and grab every opportunity to serve.

GIVING UNSELFISH SERVICE IS A WAY TO FOLLOW THE SAVIOR

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ spoke clearly about what the disciples should do if they wanted to follow Him. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) The Savior invited us to follow Him by denying ourselves of selfish interests in order to give service to others.

There are many things that can hold us back from serving others. In my case, I was completely self-absorbed and didn’t think of what I could do to help my grandparents. Sometimes we tend to wait for the perfect conditions to serve. We fear that we don’t have enough to give, or even think that we’re not needed. The Savior’s invitation to serve unselfishly should help us dissolve any thoughts we have that keep us from serving others.

YOU CAN FIND JOY IN RENDERING SERVICE

We are encouraged to serve others even in our own little ways.

It was only when I was helping my Lola with cooking one day that I noticed how visibly happier they were simply because we were there. She told me she felt sad and lonely every time the house was empty. By then, I had quashed every bit of annoyance I’d felt about the move and focused solely on what it had done for my Lolo and Lola. I found happiness in their happiness. Surely, all of us can feel that love too when we give our own unselfish service to others.

President Utchdorf testified of this truth, “As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness.”. A love of service is one attribute that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to seek.There would be little purpose to our lives if we didn’t take time to give unselfish service to others even in our own little ways.