Any day now, Harold and I will be welcoming our sweet little girl into this world! Meeting our precious daughter for the first time will truly be a gift from God--the reality of which fills my heart with an indescribable measure of joy!
At the same time, I also believe that these final few days of "freedom" are a gift from God as well. These remaining baby-less days serve as a time for me to continue preparing myself spiritually, physically, and emotionally for the unfamiliar, God-dependent challenges that lie ahead.
My first day off from work proved to be a true gift from the Lord. It was a sweet morning of physical rest (sleeping in) and physical nourishment (chocolate chip pancakes!!). Not to mention, this particular day was the ultimate display of physical beauty outside--with plenty of sunshine and blue skies to encourage and delight my heart. And apart from being a gift of physical provision, this day also served as a gift of spiritual encouragement to my soul.
As I finished my breakfast, I began to consider what my first day off of work would look like. What things would I do to occupy all my new found free time? I thought about something my pastor's wife has shared with the ladies of our church on more than one occasion: that she views herself first and foremost as a worshiper and servant of God. Subsequently, she is a wife to her husband, then a mother to her children, then a servant to others--all in that order.
As I pondered her words, I felt prompted to think about how I could intentionally structure and prioritize my day in such a way that would, first and foremost, be pleasing to Christ. So, Avery and I plopped down in the nursery to spend some time reading His word. I parked at a verse in Mark 9, with the subtitle 'Who is the Greatest?'. In this passage, Jesus is addressing his disciples, who had recently been quarreling about which of them was the greatest. The passage reads like this:
And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:33-35)
That final sentence really challenged the posture of my heart. If I want to achieve greatness in the eyes of God, I thought, then I must be last of all and servant of all. So what exactly should that look like for me--in the context of this day specifically?
Almost suddenly, my mind began to generate this series of questions:
1. What things can I do today to serve and love God first?
2. What things can I do today to serve and love my family next?
3. Then, what things can I do today to serve and love others?
4. Lastly, what things can I do today to serve myself?
By intentionally sifting through this sequence of introspective questions, I realized that I could--as well as deeply desired to--train myself to put God first, family and others second, and myself last. And a wave of joy washed over me to think that Jesus would view such a sacrifice of self as an act of true, God-honoring greatness.
So, for the rest of my day, I sought to follow this order of service and love. I had already started my morning serving and loving God first by spending time with Him and treasuring up His words in my heart before tending to any other task.
Next, I thought about the things I could accomplish around our house that would serve my sweet husband and our daughter. I spent time cleaning and organizing various rooms in an effort to make our home a fresh and inviting place for Harold to come home to that day (and for Avery to come home to in the days to come!).
Finally, I devoted the rest of my afternoon to serving others while serving myself (two birds, one stone kind of thing). On this day--serving others meant bringing a word of truth and encouragement to the Saints in Christ through this blog post. And, simultaneously on this day, serving myself meant enjoying a half-off Frappuccino at Starbucks while blogging (both of which are joys for me)!
Examining and living out our service to God, to our families, to others, and to ourselves will not look the same every day. It could be very specific and tangible on some days, or very small and subtle on other days. But on any day and in any circumstance, if our hearts and minds have been joyfully trained and prepared to put ourselves last, then our service will be great.
So, Saints in Christ, my prayer for you is that you would be encouraged to cultivate a true and practical understanding of greatness in accordance with the definition that Christ Himself has ascribed to it. To be great is to be last of all and servant of all.
Let's aim to realign our hearts and minds to Mark 9:35 so that we can live out this definition of authentic greatness--with minds set above.
4. Lastly, what things can I do today to serve myself?
By intentionally sifting through this sequence of introspective questions, I realized that I could--as well as deeply desired to--train myself to put God first, family and others second, and myself last. And a wave of joy washed over me to think that Jesus would view such a sacrifice of self as an act of true, God-honoring greatness.
So, for the rest of my day, I sought to follow this order of service and love. I had already started my morning serving and loving God first by spending time with Him and treasuring up His words in my heart before tending to any other task.
Next, I thought about the things I could accomplish around our house that would serve my sweet husband and our daughter. I spent time cleaning and organizing various rooms in an effort to make our home a fresh and inviting place for Harold to come home to that day (and for Avery to come home to in the days to come!).
Finally, I devoted the rest of my afternoon to serving others while serving myself (two birds, one stone kind of thing). On this day--serving others meant bringing a word of truth and encouragement to the Saints in Christ through this blog post. And, simultaneously on this day, serving myself meant enjoying a half-off Frappuccino at Starbucks while blogging (both of which are joys for me)!
Examining and living out our service to God, to our families, to others, and to ourselves will not look the same every day. It could be very specific and tangible on some days, or very small and subtle on other days. But on any day and in any circumstance, if our hearts and minds have been joyfully trained and prepared to put ourselves last, then our service will be great.
So, Saints in Christ, my prayer for you is that you would be encouraged to cultivate a true and practical understanding of greatness in accordance with the definition that Christ Himself has ascribed to it. To be great is to be last of all and servant of all.
Let's aim to realign our hearts and minds to Mark 9:35 so that we can live out this definition of authentic greatness--with minds set above.
