If you don't feel special and you don't believe you have anything of value to offer this world, then don't go away. Today we're going to uncover the unestimated power of service on the Resilient Faith Online podcast, episode six. Welcome, I'm Marissa Shatterick, host of the Resilient Faith Online Show. I'm a digital strategist and certified copywriter, but more importantly, a woman of faith. In this podcast, you'll find a biblical perspective to the external and internal challenges we face as online content creators. Join me for some inspiration and practical tips as we let our faith shape our work to create positive change online. To connect with our private Facebook group of faith-based online entrepreneurs, go to MarissaShepherd.com forward slash faith. Oh, hello. So glad to be here again. Thank you so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Today we're going to talk again about some mindset issues. I've been talking a lot about it, and I wanted you to have an opportunity to kind of see where I'm coming from, why I'm creating these podcasts. And moving forward, we're going to have some more practical tips. I'm going to be talking about copywriting. I'm going to have some guests coming on. But in this particular episode, I want to share what inspired it. On the day that this broadcast airs, it happens to be Memorial Day. Memorial Day is an American holiday that's observed in May, where we honor and we remember men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. And so as I was thinking about service and I was thinking of people that have served and given the ultimate sacrifice, it inspired this podcast. I wanted to talk a little bit more about service and what it truly is and the impact it can have because sometimes we don't see how powerful service really is. Service has shaped who we've become. If we think about it a little bit, we can see the history behind some of the things that have impacted our lives. And in the same way, we can have a positive impact on others. So when we think about it, everyone who has served us, whether it was our parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, even people that we don't even know have served us and impacted our lives. When you think of authors of books, I love to read. And there's so many books that have really marked my life. Or we think of employees, people that have served us well, whether they're a brick and mortar business or it's some type of product or service that you use online, and their customer service is exemplary and they serve you really, really well. You know what that feels like. Well, I had a situation one time when my daughter was growing up and she was in high school. We started having these mom and daughter trips because I knew she would be leaving the home soon, you know, going to school. And so we want to take advantage of opportunity and spend some quality time together. And we went to New York City and we saw some plays there. And one of the trips, we decided to go to Seattle because we both love Starbucks and we wanted to go where Starbucks was born. So we decided to go to Seattle. And while we were there, we took the ferry to one of the islands, and I think it was the town of Winslow. We went to go visit the town. We spent the day there, we had dinner there, and we wanted to make sure to catch the last ferry or one of the last ferries to get back to Seattle. So we got on the ferry, went back to the hotel. As soon as I got to the hotel, I realized, oh my gosh, I had left my debit card at the restaurant because I didn't have it with me. And that was the last place that I used it. So I panicked. I thought, what am I going to do? Because that's what I was using to pay for everything. And I needed it for the rest of the trip. So I called the restaurant and someone answered and happened to be the waiter that waited on us. And he said, Oh, yes, I found your debit card. You did leave it here. So I'll tell you what I'll do on my way back when I take the last ferry back to Seattle, because I live in Seattle, I will stop by your hotel and I will drop it off. And I was like amazed that this young man would do that. He assured me that it was safe and sound, nobody was going to use it, and everything was fine, and everything was fine. That was above and beyond. And I never forgot that because that really was so special for that person to make that extra effort and make sure that I had my debit card. So when you think of how you could have value and how you could set yourself apart in your online business, I want you to kind of sit with this for a minute. How you serve is what makes you special. How you show up, how you serve other people is what's going to set you apart online. I want to tell you the stories of two ordinary men that shaped my life. And I want to really highlight the fact that service, no matter how small or how big, it can impact the lives of people. The first one is of my father-in-law who's no longer with us. And this was when he was in the army. So I'm going to take you back to 1944 during the war in France. Now, evidently there was a trailer filled with ammunition that they had to abandon because there was some heavy uh enemy shelling that was causing a lot of congestion, and they were unable to continue. And so they were ordered to withdraw and leave the ammunition behind, the trailer with the ammunition. So this is where I'm going to pick up and I'm going to read to you what happened. Meanwhile, the enemy cut the supply line, creating an acute ammunition shortage. Sergeant Shadrick volunteered to return and retrieve the trailer. Upon reaching the area, intense fire were met. But with much ingenuity and effort, the trailer was returned to the platoon. The courage and devotion to duty as displayed by Sergeant Shadrick reflect the highest credit on himself and the Army of the United States. Amazing. That I'm sure is one of many untold stories of heroic acts during the war. Now, my father-in-law was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, as did other soldiers who did some amazing acts of bravery during that time. But here's what I want to point out. What he did, that act of bravery, not only helped the other soldiers he was serving with, but it was also an act that served us as well, as Americans, to protect our rights, our freedoms, the opportunities that we have here, as all men and women who have served in wars have done in the past. This is like the highest form of service. Now I want to tell you the story of a second man. The man is my father, who I told you in a previous podcast, was born in Ecuador. And he worked in South America. He was born to a very poor, poor family. So he was always trying to better himself. He was always reading. He was always learning. He was always trying to see an opportunity for him to be able to be successful. And he had an admiration for airplanes. I mean, he was he was obsessed with airplanes. So he was learning everything he could about airplanes, but he was also learning English. And he had a person that would fly into the airport where he was working. It was an American. And my dad, every time he saw him, he would run to him and greet him and take his luggage for him and practice his English. And he would ask him, you know, what it was like in the United States. And he was very inquisitive. He was a young man, right? And this man was very kind to him. And every time he flew into South America, my dad would greet him and they would chat. And one day, this man flew in and my dad greeted him again, as he always did. And he asked my dad, Louie, how would you like to work in the United States with Pan Am? And my dad, of course, was shocked and amazed. And what would he say? But yes. And the man said, Don't worry, I'm going to put together all the paperwork, everything that you need. I will send it to you, and you will be able to fly to New York City and work for Pan Am. So my dad, I mean, you can imagine how elated he was, and he waited patiently to get this envelope, checking the mail all the time, right? When he finally got a large envelope and all the documentation, everything was there for him to be able to move to the United States and work for Pan Am. Who Pan Am at the time was a really big deal, I might say. New York City was like the adult version of Disneyland for him. He was amazed and thought it was the most beautiful city in the whole wide world as he looked at the skyscrapers, as he looked at everything that the US had to offer. And of course, the thing on his mind was, I want to be an American citizen. And so later he, you know, he worked and he had his family, and I was born in New York City, but he finally had his dream fulfilled, and he became an American citizen. And he loved America so much. This is a man who had a flag, an outside American flag inside his apartment, perched up in the corner of his room. And as he got older, um, I would visit him. He lived about a block away from us, and I would visit him and check on him, make sure he was fine. And when he started developing dementia, and I knew it was time for him to move in with us, we packed him up, but he wanted that flag, and that flag had to be in his room that we had for him. We had a little room and a kind of an adjoining living room to it. He wanted that flag in his room. So that flag was there, but he gave me something that was of so much value to him, and I'm gonna read you it's a letter, and I'm gonna read you this letter because it meant so much to him. The letter is dated 1965. And it reads as follows As governor of the state of New York, I congratulate you upon the occasion of your naturalization. As an American citizen, you are entitled to all the rights and prerogatives of our Constitution and its Bill of Rights. It's your duty as a citizen and your responsibility as a human being to preserve and enhance the spirit of liberty and the dignity of the individual for this and future generations of Americans and for all freedom-loving men and women throughout the world. I am delighted to extend a welcome to you as a citizen of the state of New York. Here I hope that you will enjoy to the fullest the bounties of our wonderful country, and through your efforts to strengthen our heritage of freedom. And it was signed Nelson Rockefeller. My dad just held this letter with such value. He loved America. My father-in-law loved America, and I echo that. I love America. If I didn't, I would move and go somewhere else and live somewhere else. But I love where I live. And I love the opportunities that we have. And one of them is being an online creator, right? An online entrepreneur. It is a privilege and an honor that we can, through the internet, uh, touch the entire world. And so what I want you to take away here between these two stories that I just shared, what was the bridge? The bridge to me is service in seeing how my father-in-law served his country to create an opportunity for people like my dad to have an opportunity. And so I appreciate both men for depositing these values in my life and this love for this country. Yes, I will agree. It's a little broken. It's limping here and there, but still, it's like a relative, right? You we all have our favorite relatives, and we have those relatives that maybe are a little broken. We still love them. And I just love this country. And I know that service continues to shape who we become and who we are, but we can also use service to set ourselves apart in the online world and to impact the lives of others. I believe we have an extraordinary opportunity to serve online, not just with products and services, but to truly impact individuals in a positive way. I guess in closing, I love the fact that we honor men and women who died while serving in the US military. We should, and we remember Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veterans Day, but I feel we need to not make it an annual event. I feel like we need to remember daily and have a heart of gratitude for the privileges and the opportunities that we have and to embrace them and use our skills and our talents and our abilities coupled with these privileges to create the change that we need in this world. One nation under God, land of the free and home of the brave. Are you brave enough to serve even when it hurts? Even when it's sacrificial? Are you brave enough to believe in your dream of an online business and create positive change? You will be serving people well. So cultivate resilient faith online and continue to create positive change online. So I hope this has helped you today to know that you have value when you serve. If you serve people and you honor people, you bring value to the world. So keep pressing on and until next time, take care. If you found this podcast helpful, then subscribe from wherever you're listening today so you never miss an episode. Every subscription, review, or rating means so much to me. So keep them coming and share this with a friend. For more free content, go to marishashadrick.com and remember keep cultivating resilient faith online to create positive change in the world.