Let’s shift our focus from what I deserve to how I can serve. This is Mother’s Day week as we think about our moms who are here and those who are in heaven. From the day each one became a mom she was led to serve her children. That doesn’t end with graduations, marriages, or even motherhood. Motherhood is an act of giving of ourselves for others. We need to carry that with us not only with our families but with any and everyone who crosses our path.
It doesn’t have to be that you sacrifice yourself for others but that you increase your own worth by generously serving others in all the small ways. Just the mentality of not what can I get but what can I give is a precious gift to ourselves. It turns greed into giving, feeling left out to including others and most importantly builds our lives because of our service. It is always better to give than to receive just think of Amazon boxes for a moment. How guilty do I feel when one arrives with yet another purse I absolutely do not need? But how good it feels to know that my aunt who lives alone is opening her door to see a small box with a coffee cup that will not only make her smile but let her know that I was thinking of her.
Let’s think about a gift our moms and even our aunties have gifted us with for a minute. Time to laugh, a place to cry, lessons to learn and even how to improve on our playing jacks on the floor. Oh the fond memories I have of playing jacks with my Aunt Judy. How come I never played jacks with my kids or nieces or nephews? But the greatest gift was simply accepting us for who we are and being willing to share a tweek to make us even better.
What is the best advice one of our ladies of the family shared with you? Hmmmmm so many things come to mind for my mom, aunts, grandma and even loving neighbors. I learned from them. Mom said never discipline a child without giving privacy and your complete, undivided attention. She took me out of a place and sat me on her bed with the door closed to kneel down in front of me and talk it out. That respected me by not shouting at me in front of others. When I returned from our chat I more often than not had a new perspective. This became how I handled my own children. My mom also taught me to shave my legs in the cold stream in Oak Creek. The cold perks your leg hairs and you get a closer shave. If you are home feel free to turn off the hot water in your shower and shiver while you shave.
I would love to know the best advice you got from your mom or an important lady in your life. Kay Newton was a piano teacher who lived down the street where I grew up. She never did anything without including a child from the neighborhood even though she had no kids of her own. We were always standing on a chair doing dishes making a bigger mess of her kitchen than we knew. At times, she taped rags to our feet, sprayed them with oil and let us skate through her house polishing her wood floors. I always believed I was helping her so much but now I wonder how much work it was for her to clean up after our cleaning days.
When we focus on what we deserve we get pouty for what we didn’t get that we were due. When we focus on serving others we reap the benefits and joy of giving. Not what I deserve but how I can serve. Can I thank the cashier at the store? Can I let you have the piece of pizza with the most pepperoni? Can I pick up that piece of trash on my walk even though I didn’t drop it? Can I call you when I hear you had a suckie day? Can I put a note on a strangers car not for how bad he parked but to say Jesus loves you and so do I? Can I stop me focusing but instead notice what you are going through? I can but only if I am intentional about shifting from me to you. By the way, that shift gives me way more than when I am focused on me.
In Him,
Joyful
5-6-24
No comments:
Post a Comment