Serra Club Vocations Essay

Student grows in service to others through family relationships

By Samuel Sering (Special to The Criterion)

To further his kingdom, I am allowing God to use me by expressing my kindness and charity toward other people and following the will of God throughout my life.

I also use the value of prayer to guide me toward the kingdom of God and expand my faith. We are the “now of God,” and we should always express that through our actions and words.

Throughout my life, I have believed that kindness and respect toward all will lead to more wonderful actions and deeds of others. Overall, I believe that goodness and God-fearing faith overcomes evil and spreads the word of God.

Through school and relationships, I have become closer with my friends, classmates and teachers. I have made bonds that feel strong and continue to create more with others as I meet new people and get to know them better.

The friendliness and behavior that is shown will affect the people around you, and it could lead to more positive results, such as friendships that can last for a while and give you confidence, as well as happiness, comfort and support throughout these balanced and healthy relationships, including strengthening our relationship with the Lord.

Along with strengthening relationships, I believe that the major aspect I allow God to further me through his kingdom is through my behavior toward my family. In my life, family is important. Everyone in the family needs one another, and my family fits just that.

I believe if one person was separated, it wouldn’t make up a family. It is like the body of Christ being compared to the Church. Everyone in the Church is needed to make up the body of Christ, and it wouldn’t function if one was gone. As a family, we go to Mass every week together, devote ourselves to the Eucharist and pray, knowing the Holy Spirit will guide us.

In my life, I try to get along with my sisters as much as I can, even if it is very difficult. I respect my mother and father very much, and I listen to them most of the time. When I do these types of actions for my family, I have this sense of goodness and spirit that fulfills me.

It is always a good feeling, and I love to have that feeling especially through service with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and volunteering at HOPE for Tomorrow. This respect toward my family expands my faith toward my service for God, leading to even more goodness.

After going to the National Catholic Youth Conference last November, I remember Pope Francis telling everyone to “take the Lord with [us].” I cherished those unforgettable moments, and I came to realize that God was always strong in our hearts, minds and souls, and we need to always express this feeling rather than suppress it.

“Jesus needs [me]” to overcome the temptations of evil through kindness, charity and respect. And these characteristics lie in my strong, faithful relationships in my family, community, and in my God.
 

(Samuel and his parents, Joe and Jill Sering, are members of St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis. He completed the 10th grade at Roncalli High School this spring and is the 10th-grade division winner in the Indianapolis Serra Club’s 2020 John D. Kelley Vocations Essay Contest.) †