Spiritual Practices: Using the Pause in Service

Viewing and practicing service through a trauma-sensitive lens.

What is the purpose of the Spiritual Practice of Service?

Service is a way of living with a focus on meeting the needs of others. It isn’t defined by doing any specific activity, but instead by being attuned to God and the opportunities to do God’s work here on earth.  

How can trauma impact the Spiritual Practice of Service?

The Need to Belong: When belonging is unconditional, it is healing; when belonging is conditional, it is retraumatizing. As mentioned before, there is no fiercer survival need than the need to belong. Your story may make the need to belong overwhelming and easily trap you into serving as a way to belong.

The Need for Validation: It is also understandable that service can feel like a way to receive validation. In my own story, gaining recognition was a significant unconscious driving force. When the need to belong and the need for validation combine, it can be very difficult to make choices about how you will serve.

Over-Serving Can Lead to Burnout: The essence of service has become driven by church traditions and programs. Because of the need for leaders and volunteers to carry on this work, those who find it the hardest to say no often end up being overworked, placing undue stress on an already overwhelmed nervous system.

How can finding the pause button make the Spiritual Practice of Service accessible?