In Philippians 2:5-11 we see that Jesus poured out his life
for us with no thought of himself. He was the ultimate in humility and poured
out himself for humanity. This week for Theology 2 we were to think of a
project in humility and live it out for a week. In class I immediately thought
of the fact that as a mom of 4, I am required to pour out my life daily and not
think of myself. I feel that most of my time is spent taking care of these 4
little lives I have been entrusted with. However, I was also immediately
convicted of my attitude and my willingness to serve. I wondered if I
considered it a privilege to give my life and time to them.
I determined that I would work to be conscious of my
attitude and work to serve my family in a way that they saw that I considered
it a joy. I found when I let the Holy Spirit have free reign over my attitude,
I was often checked. I found that I tend to grumble doing the same things over
and over in service, especially to my children. I know that when I live in a
place of joyful serving then it affects all that I do and everyone I come into
contact with. I feel incredibly blessed to be a mom to my children but that
doesn’t always show to them. I want to be the kind of person who models Christ,
thinking not of myself or my rights. When I grumble it says to my family that
they are an inconvenience and a distraction from what I want to be doing.
However, when I live the way that Christ did, it shows my children that I think
they are worth it, that it is my pleasure and privilege to serve them and to be
their momma, that’s what I wish to show them.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)
I would suggest that this is a battle that can be fought on a couple of fronts. One is the "front" you are talking about, that of attitude and engaging with family from a fresh perspective. I don't have much insight on that right now!
ReplyDeleteBut the "other front" might be to make sure that you have scheduled at least one "Me time" per week - a breakfast out with a girlfriend, or a baby-sitter so you can go to the park for an hour one afternoon, or asking the hubby to watch the kids one evening so you can go shopping in peace and have some alone-time...
I'm just saying - for instance, I can tend to build up resentment at my work because it never ends. But if I schedule in a break once in a while, there is a "base" from which to work on my overall attitude.
Sometimes the problem isn't deep wrestling about my psychological or spiritual state - it's just a matter of doing something about it, at least as a place to start! :)
Thanks for sharing your journey.
COMPLETE - Dangaran. As always Cary, we so appreciate the way you engage with us in class, writing, thinking. You are such an important part of this Cohort! May God truly meet you this week in Phil 2!! Steve
ReplyDelete