To Serve Man, or how to cope with chronic pain

No, this isn't a post about that old Twilight Zone episode where in the end serving man meant serving him for dinner.
I had a unique but readily available opportunity to serve yesterday.  My mother is one of a group of ladies that serve a free lunch at the Wesley House on the Eastern New Mexico University campus.  I was invited to join and as I have been recently reshaping my lifestyle in a healthier and happier way, I felt this was going to be a fun thing.
We arrived early to start preparing an honest home cooked meal.  It was decided that Spaghetti with garlic bread, salad and massive amounts of dessert were the way to go.  The ladies were very efficient and welcoming.  I swung right into their rhythm and we had sauce cooking and bread cut and tables set.
Then the students came in.  They were orderly, polite and hungry.  They used the finest manners and were so grateful for the meal.  Some cautiously asked for seconds.  As long as we had food, we kept serving.
In the end we served somewhere in the area of 50 college students.  And in doing so, we served ourselves.
I was delighted to find this act of service to be so rewarding to me.  It felt wonderful to try and find extra ways to make these kids happy.

And now for the bigger secret.  The one lady who heads up this group, also heads up about a dozen other service projects.  She bakes constantly and shares the efforts of her labors with bible school children, and the elderly, committee meetings and friends.  She tackles organization, shopping and the front lines.
She told me that you can never do enough and it was easy to see just how good all of this made her feel.  Especially when she said, she had to keep busy because she had chronic pain.  Her pain was constant and she felt, why be miserable at home.  Why sit and be alone , when she can go out in the world and make a difference.  She smiled, she laughed, she joked.  She moved, she cleaned, she swept.  She never once acted like someone in pain.  She said the act of helping others was the biggest relief, so she fills her days with it.
She is now the second person I have known in my life who has chronic pain and makes it their mission to use service as pain relief.  I have also know some with deep emotional pain, and they find solace in service.

But be warned!!!!  Service is addictive!  So catch a high, go out and help someone!