While You Wait Wednesday: When a Birthday Becomes an Act of Service

What happens when you stop waiting for the “right time” and just show up?

There’s something powerful about choosing to spend your birthday serving others. No fancy dinner. No spotlight. Just you, your community, and a box of food destined for a family who needs it.

That’s exactly what Dr. Lael did.

This past week, we gathered at the North Texas Food Bank to celebrate Dr. Lael’s birthday, and the way she chose to mark another year around the sun says everything about who she is and what While You Wait Ministries is about. She didn’t want a party. She wanted her people beside her, doing something that mattered. And that’s what happened.

The HOPErs community showed up. Friends showed up. Her team showed up. And together, we sorted, packed, and moved food that will end up on tables across the DFW area where hunger is a very real, very daily reality.

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The Food Crisis Right Here in Our Backyard

We often think of food insecurity as a distant problem, something happening somewhere else. But the numbers in our own region tell a different story.

The North Texas Food Bank serves 13 counties across North Texas, providing access to nutritious food for children, seniors, and families who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. In the DFW Metroplex alone, 1 in 7 people face food insecurity. That’s your neighbor. Your coworker. Someone sitting in the same traffic you sat in this morning.

The need is massive. But so is our capacity to respond to it.

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Jesus Didn’t Just Talk About Serving — He Did It

If you’ve been in a waiting season, you know how easy it is to turn inward. Pain has a way of shrinking your world down to just you and whatever you’re carrying. But Scripture shows us a different way.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Mark 10:45

Jesus, fully God, fully human, wrapped a towel around his waist and washed feet. He fed crowds of thousands with what little was available. He touched the untouchable, sat with the overlooked, and fed the hungry. Not because his own needs were all sorted out, but because service was the overflow of who He was.

And here’s the thing about waiting seasons: they don’t disqualify you from serving. Sometimes, showing up for someone else is the very thing that shifts something in you.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9

Don’t give up. Even when your own arms feel heavy, there’s still something you can give.

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A Birthday Worth Remembering

Dr. Lael could have celebrated her birthday any way she wanted. But she chose this: a warehouse, a conveyor belt, and her community standing shoulder to shoulder doing something good.

What struck us most wasn’t the volume of food packed or the hours logged. It was the joy. There’s a specific kind of joy that only shows up when you take your eyes off your own situation and pour into someone else’s. The people who came out didn’t just serve the DFW community that day. They served each other. They showed up for Dr. Lael. And in doing so, they embodied exactly what this ministry is about: you don’t have to have it all figured out to be useful. You just have to show up.

Happy birthday, Dr. Lael. This is exactly the kind of person you are, and we’re better for it.

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How You Can Serve at the North Texas Food Bank

You don’t have to wait for a birthday or a special occasion. The need is ongoing, and so is the invitation. Here are a few ways to get involved:

How You Can Serve at the North Texas Food Bank

You don’t have to wait for a birthday or a special occasion. The need is ongoing, and so is the invitation. Here are a few ways to get involved:

Volunteer in person. The North Texas Food Bank welcomes individual and group volunteers to help sort and pack food at their Plano warehouse. Shifts are available throughout the week and on weekends. Visit ntfb.org to sign up.

Host a food drive. Whether it’s your church, workplace, neighborhood, or small group, organize a collection and drop it off at a local food bank partner location.

Donate. Every dollar donated to NTFB provides multiple meals. You can give directly at ntfb.org. A little goes further than you think.

Join us at the Melville Foundation Golf Classic. Looking for another way to make an impact? The Melville Foundation Golf Classic is a great opportunity to come together, have fun, and support a cause that matters. Get all the details and register at greatgolfeventsinc.com/melville.

Spread the word. Not everyone can give money or time right now, but you can use your platform, even if it’s just your Instagram story, to point people toward the need.

Shop the community pantries. Many local churches and community organizations run food pantries. Donate non-perishables during your next grocery run and drop them off locally.

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Your Waiting Season Isn’t Wasted

If you’re in a hard season right now, waiting, grieving, hoping for something that hasn’t come yet, we want you to know this: you are not disqualified from doing good while you wait. In fact, sometimes service is what sustains us.

Dr. Lael has built this ministry on the conviction that waiting isn’t weakness, it’s warfare. And one of the most powerful things you can do in the middle of your battle is fight for someone else.

So this week, find one way to show up. Pack a box. Write a check. Share a post. Pray for someone who’s hungry.

While you wait, serve.

With hope, The While You Wait Ministries Team

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Want to stay connected with what we’re doing in the community? Follow us on Instagram @whileyouwaitministries and join our HOPErs Community to walk through your waiting season with women who understand.