LODESTAR
A word by Delight Antos, ABC/WI President
“There’s a great harvest waiting in the fields, but there aren’t many good workers to harvest it. Pray that the Harvest Master will send out good workers to the fields.” Luke 10:2 (VOICE)
Merriam-Webster defines volunteer as a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service. Leadership is the capacity to lead. I think it is interesting that there is such a short definition of leadership, especially when there are so many forms of leadership. Does that mean we are the sole decision-makers as leaders? No! I feel a leader uses what he or she learns from volunteering and listening to others in order to bring new innovative people or thoughts into our lives and communities, pushing us beyond our life in the usual mode.
Hebrews 10:24-25 states “Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other…” (VOICE)
A high school senior told me, “When someone volunteers they see their world expand!” Wow, that gives us the why to volunteer. Do we care what the cause is for? About the bigger picture we can become a part of? Or that we are enriching our lives and making the lives of others better in every way? Yes, we should care. What if Senator John McCain stopped volunteering and leading as soon as he was released from Prisoner-of-War status? Would our world be different? Yes! Better? No, probably not.
Hebrews 10:7 states “See I have come to do Your Will, God.” (VOICE)
Are we stuck in our own little world with no thought of what God wants in our lives? Everything that we do at home, at the church, in our community, and in our region gives us a better understanding of the world around us. We can then become a Lodestar!!! What is a Lodestar? Merriam-Webster says, “one that serves as an inspiration, model, or guide.” That Lodestar lets us take what we have seen because of what we do (volunteer) and use what we have seen to inspire others and to bring a better, brighter future to all we serve (lead).