Day 37: Serving the Hard-to-Serve

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you….Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.’” John 13:12-15,17


I honestly think that sometimes we can find serving others, dare I say, easy. Think about it, there will always be people that we need to serve, and they need all that we can offer them. The poor, the homeless, the sick, the widowed, the lost. But I truly believe that serving them can sometimes be easy. We know they need help, we are willing to jump in because their options are so limited (or even nothing), and, the majority of the time, they accept all that we can give with an open and thankful heart.

But Jesus calls us to go one step further. What about those that just have a hard heart? They aren’t as thankful for help or even open to receiving it, but yet, they need it. They may never show appreciation, but yet we are called to serve them.

My mother-in-law, Ruth Weigle, is an amazing example to me of a humble servant. She very quietly does what is needed, cares for those who are hurting, and provides anything she can to those who are lacking. She serves her own family cheerfully without end. But I have never heard of someone serving another with such a hard heart, until I learned of this story. See Ruth never, ever says an unkind word about anyone. But if anyone ever earned that right, it was her. One day, she told me of her own mother-in-law, Kathryn, Neil’s grandmother (aka Big Grandma). And for the first time ever, I heard Ruth say, “she was a horrible woman, just mean and awful.” I actually thought she was kidding. But then she continued in describing Big Grandma. Ruth told me about when Kathryn would call her at different times and just begin to yell at her, to tell Ruth that she was a horrible wife, mom and person, Kathryn would lash out with deeply hurting words. Ruth told me that she finally got to a point where she would put the phone down and walk away because her words were so hurtful. As time went on, Ruth’s children grew up, got married, and had children of their own, Kathryn developed Alzheimer’s and soon ended up in a nursing home. Her heart only grew harder, her words only more harsh. But yet, Ruth would visit her regularly to show her care, to help bathe her, feed her, wash her long hair and carefully put it in her prayer cap, change her clothes, to serve her. I believe this is serving at its best and hardest. Kathryn, who passed away in 2003 would never show any level of thankfulness towards Ruth, never a tender heart. But Ruth never stopped showing her the love of Jesus. She never stopped serving the same way that Jesus would, a trait I have seen passed on to her son.

We all know someone in life who has a hard heart, who doesn’t think he or she needs help or needs to be served. We all know unkind and hurtful people. Isn’t it our job to imitate the actions of Jesus and show them love? Wasn’t it Jesus who washed the feet of the man that would soon betray him?

~Katie Weigle