Annette Bowling (1936 – 2016) Courtesy Albany ARC

Annette Bowling stepped into eternity last Wednesday. She was the founder and Executive Director of the Albany Advocacy Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving individuals with developmental disabilities.

There will be a lot written about Annette Bowling. I remember hearing of an account in her life that sums up the heart of a servant. It was not meeting with Governors, Senators, Representatives, or even Presidents. It had to do with a simple cocktail napkin.

What can a cocktail napkin tell you about service? In the hands of the right person it can tell you a lot.

Annette Bowling once visited a foreign country. Paper products were scarce and she was staying with a very poor family.

A fellow American on the trip observed Annette with single cocktail napkin, carefully unfolding it and cutting it into four separate pieces in order that everyone could have a napkin in a land where a simple cocktail napkin is considered a luxury.

The simple act of discreetly and quietly cutting up a cocktail napkin reveals the spirit of a servant at work. Some would have used the cocktail napkin while others did without and not even given it a second thought. Others would have gone without a cocktail napkin because no one else had one. But Annette saw more than a simple cocktail napkin.

The single ply of a cocktail napkin was something that could make a host family in a poor country feel special, worthy, and deeply appreciated. Take a moment to let the innovative servant-spirit of Annette Bowling take inventory of the cocktail napkins you can use to touch someone’s life.

I appreciate you taking the time to read my thoughts. Please forward these to your friends and share on Facebook.

Sign up to below to get my commentaries sent directly to your in-box. I promise, you won’t get a bunch of junk and I will not share your e-mail address with anyone. When you get an e-mail from me, you can be assured that it will be easy to read, informative, and usually short. Thank you again for reading.

by