Losing Ourselves In Service

Hello fellow Sparklers! I’m excited to introduce myself to you as Shimmer Sparkle Shine’s first intern. I’m Brinna Jones, a twenty-something from a very small town in northern Wyoming. I’m a senior at Brigham Young University-Idaho and will start my final semester of school in September before graduating with a BS in Family and Consumer Sciences Education. In January I’ll start student teaching in the West Jordan School District in Utah. This is one of the busiest summers of my life between my working as an intern for SSS, working as a pharmacy technician, volunteering as a baseball coach for five different teams, and planning my wedding for the end of July. It’s funny to think about how I became involved with SSS is the same way I came to be engaged to my wonderful fiancé, Taylor. I was introduced to SSS when I first lived with Ciara in January of 2014. We lived together for three months and then lived together again in September of 2015. It wasn’t until October of 2015 I helped with my first workshop down in Utah. It was actually on that trip I first met my fiancé. It’s funny how service brings so many different things together. Not long after the first workshop I helped with, Ciara asked if I would be interested in doing my required internship with SSS and assist her in creating a kind of kit to give to schools so they can have various activities throughout the week leading up to Share Your Sparkle Day and help encourage all the members of their school to share their sparkle by doing service to make their mark on the world. This has been a wonderful experience, just as all of my experiences with SSS have been.

I was happy to have the opportunity to participate in Share Your Sparkle Day this past Friday. I had planned on doing a service project for a family member but my co-worker ended up being sick and I had to cover for her at work. That evening though, one of the baseball teams I volunteer as a coach for had a game and I was able to volunteer and serve in that capacity. It wasn’t the most grand service project ever but I felt good knowing I made a difference and was able to give insight and advice the other coaches couldn’t.

 I love how service oriented Shimmer Sparkle Shine is because service has always played a significant role in my life and has helped me develop and become the person I am today. I grew up serving others in many various ways, and have grown to love doing service not because of recognition I may receive or thanks or gifts from those I serve, but I’ve grown to love service simply because I love helping others and doing something for them they couldn’t do or something to make their life easier has been reward enough for me. One service project in particular which really impacted me was for my sixteenth birthday I couldn’t think of anything I really wanted or needed for gifts so I asked my parents for supplies to assemble hygiene kits to send to third world countries through my church. As I spent my birthday putting toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other basic items together in Ziploc bags, I realized just how blessed I was and grateful I was able to give someone these little things which are often taken for granted in our world today. Another aspect of service I love is knowing there are so many different ways to serve and an act of service doesn’t have to be big and extravagant to make a difference in someone’s life. I also love how serving others can make us feel important and significant. It helps us know we have made a difference in some way. I love how Dieter F. Uchtdorf put it, “As we lose ourselves in the service of others we discover our own lives and our own happiness.” I encourage you all to share your sparkle, not just on Share Your Sparkle Day but every day and in every way possible because it helps others and it helps you become a better person.