This prayer by Ruth Harms Calkin spoke to my heart.

I Wonder
You know, Lord,
How I serve You
With great emotional fervor
In the limelight.
You know how eagerly
I speak for You
At a women’s club.
You know how I effervesce
When I promote
A fellowship group.
You know my genuine enthusiasm
At a Bible study.
But how would I react, I wonder,
If You pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash
The calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman
Day after day,
Month after month,
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew.
(From Tell Me Again, Lord, I Forget, by Ruth Harms Calkin © 1974. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Most of us as followers of Christ display a cheerful spirit when we are serving Him in public. But it’s more difficult when we are called to serve Him over a long period of time in some out-of-the-way place, where no one can see us and when we receive no recognition. That’s the true test of faithfulness to the Lord.

Lord Jesus, help us to serve You faithfully in the humble tasks You have given us that no one ever sees.

  — David C. Egner