Nicole's Story

When Serving Gets Hard: A Story of Faith, Service and Trusting God

For some people, serving others isn't something they simply started doing as adults. It's something they learned from an early age.

For Nicole, service was woven into her life from the beginning.

She grew up in a Christian home where church wasn't simply something her family attended. It was something they lived.

There were youth groups, mission trips, church activities and countless opportunities to serve. Through her parents' example, she learned what it looked like to care for people, serve the community and give her time to the church.

And she loved it.

Learning to Serve

As she grew older, Nicole became increasingly involved in her youth group and eventually became a leader.

During college, she spent her summers working at Lone Tree Ranch, a Christian camp where her youth group had attended retreats.

Those summers became transformational.

Her faith grew tremendously, and she felt that those experiences helped solidify her relationship with God.

After college, she married Michael, and the two moved to Colorado.

There, they became involved in a large young married couples group made up of around 80 couples.

But one of the most significant things they learned wasn't simply how to serve individually.

They learned how to serve together.

For 15 months, they participated in a course that taught them how to use their individual gifts as a couple and minister together.

They discovered that there was something powerful about a husband and wife serving side by side.

God Brings Them Home

Then, in 2007, God called them back to Las Cruces.

It wasn't exactly the move Nicole wanted.

She remembers crying much of the 10-hour drive home.

They were leaving behind a community that had loved them, supported them and cared for them deeply.

She couldn't understand why God would pull them away from a place where they had found such meaningful community.

But they came home.

And before long, they were serving again.

That had become their rhythm.

Serve. Give. Care. Invest.

Until everything changed.

When the Person Who Serves Needs Help

In 2018, Nicole broke her pelvis.

Suddenly, the person who had spent years caring for others was the one who needed care.

And it wasn't just a physical challenge.

She describes that season as one where God seemed to strip away many of the people and supports she had relied on.

Then, just weeks before her injury, a friend had torn her Achilles.

One had a broken pelvis.

The other had a torn Achilles.

Together, they became an unlikely pair navigating a difficult season.

But something beautiful came from it.

They spent time together.

They studied the Bible together.

They encouraged one another.

They laughed when they could.

And they walked through their struggles together.

Looking back, Nicole began to see God's hand in bringing them together during that particular season.

“Why Would You Take It All Away?”

But there was a night when the weight of it all became too much.

Nicole found herself asking God a difficult question:

Why?

Why would God allow her to spend years serving and caring for others, only to take away the people and support she needed when she was the one struggling?

She had spent years being the person who helped others.

Now she needed help.

And she didn't understand why God wasn't providing it in the way she expected.

Then came a realization that changed her perspective.

She felt God speaking something directly to her heart:

“IT’S EASY TO SERVE WHEN IT’S EASY, BUT I HAVE CALLED YOU TO BIGGER AND I HAVE CALLED YOU TO SERVE WHEN IT’S HARD.”

Those words changed the way she understood service.

Serving When It's Hard

Following Jesus isn't always easy.

Serving isn't always convenient.

And sometimes God asks us to remain faithful in seasons when we don't feel strong, supported or even capable.

But perhaps those are some of the moments when our faith grows the most.

Nicole realized that God wasn't simply asking her to serve when she had plenty to give.

He was teaching her to serve Him even when it was hard.

Even when she was hurting.

Even when she didn't understand.

Even when she felt like she deserved to be served instead.

Her response became:

Serve some more.

Not because suffering is easy.

Not because our needs don't matter.

But because Jesus is worthy of our faithfulness in every season.

What About When Serving Becomes Difficult for You?

Maybe you've experienced something similar.

Maybe you've spent years serving your family, your church, your community or the people around you.

And now you're tired.

Maybe you're walking through a season where you're the one who needs help.

Maybe you're asking God why He hasn't answered the way you expected.

Or maybe you've wondered whether your service even matters.

Nicole's story reminds us that our calling doesn't disappear simply because the circumstances become difficult.

Sometimes the hardest seasons become the places where God grows our faith the most.

We may not always understand what God is doing.

But we can continue to trust Him.

Continue to follow Him.

And continue to serve Him.

Even when it's hard.

Stories at the Crossroads

At Crossroads Community Church, we believe that every person has a story—and those stories can point us back to Jesus.

Nicole's story is a reminder that God can use every season of our lives, including the difficult ones, to shape us, deepen our faith and teach us what it means to follow Him.

WITH JESUS. FOR JESUS. ABOUT JESUS.

Watch Nicole's full story above and hear how God used one of the hardest seasons of her life to teach her a deeper lesson about faith and service.

Sometimes the greatest act of faith is simply choosing to serve Jesus one more time.