Working in the non-profit sector for the past 20 years has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life.  I’ve had the opportunity to meet thousands of families from all over the world. Rather it was a client in need of service, a volunteer that wanted to give their time, or a donor who wanted to share their treasures for a good cause. I find that a little piece of me was left with each of them just as I too carry a piece of them with me. My personal mantra has always been “service above self”, giving all of me to those who needed it more than me. 

Over the years, I’ve learned that many of us in this life of service can sometimes forget to serve our most important client; our-self. As a servant leader, I have accepted the fact that I am just a vessel to be used, a vessel that carries hope, inspiration, and faith to thousands of families that may at some point in their life, find themselves empty. Each day many of us go out to serve carrying this hope to someone, pouring out of our own vessel to give them just enough to carry on. Each time leaving a piece of us with them. 

I remember visiting a shelter and talking with a hurricane survivor that was trapped in her car for hours after it had been swept away by flood waters. With her two infant children in the car, she felt that all was lost and that no one would ever find them. She shared that all she could think about was that she didn’t want to die before her children and leave them in the fast moving water, trapped, and suffering alone.  As the lights on her car begin to dimmed, her fear began to sink in and all she could hear was the crashing of the water as it rapidly went by.  Just then, her car began to fill with water and she realized that the car was beginning to lose its grip on the tree that stopped their drift down stream.  Suddenly, she heard a voice yelled out, “Is anyone in there?” She said, “The moment I heard that voice I knew we were saved”.  A vessel of hope had arrived.

What I found intriguing about her story was, even though she was still trapped and before she ever responded to the voice, she said she knew they were saved. It was in that moment I realized that we as servant leaders, rather first responders, medical providers, spiritual or non-profit leaders; we are truly vessels of hope. Simply arriving on the scene begins the transfer of hope to someone’s situation. We leave home each morning with our vessels filled with hope, love, and concern for others and often return empty, sometimes exhausted, disappointed, or even broken by what we’ve witnessed that day. However, we wake up the next morning, slip on our old shoes, stand up straight, lean our shoulders back and go out into the world to do it all over again. While our passion for service runs deep, I have to ask, how often do we remember to take a moment and refill our own vessel? 

Eleanor Brown said, “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” Even as servant leaders, life happens to us all. The disappointments in our own lives, the challenges of balancing our demanding work and family or even the physical and mental wear and tear on our bodies from such exhausting work. Although we sometimes think about the embrace from a family that looked upon us as their hero, or the child that look at you with gratitude. Or maybe the mother that can only say “thank you” with tears in her eyes. While moments like these are often used as the fuel for our soul that keeps us going, it is not the substance in which we carry and pour to others. You are a vessel of hope, and that vessel has to be repaired, refreshed, and refilled. 

Remember; our life of service is a marathon and not a sprint. So if you enjoy this work and want to be around to continue it, take time to refill. Take time for you. As always,

Yours in service

L. Ron Pringle