eeeeew gross...

It's Wednesday again! I went to physical therapy for the last time today! I love the people there but I am glad to be through. What I thought was a minor ankle injury turned into a fracture to be fixed with a plate and screws. So here we are three months later! YAY! Funny how life takes crazy turns that way, isn't it? Out of nowhere when you're riding along, then BAM something changes! Praise God that He is all-knowing and He is here to comfort.

This week I have been reading about servanthood. Yes, I know, not the most FUN topic ever, but we are called to it, nonetheless. We just may have to work hard at it! Jesus, of course, is the perfect example of how to be a servant.

So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet and dry them with the towel tied around Him. - John 13:3-5

If you have spent any time in church, I'm sure you have learned that the task of washing feet was given to a servant. After all, walking around in sandals in the dust and dirt back then, peoples' feet became disgusting and encrusted with all that grime. Gross. I equate that in today's standards with taking out trash or cleaning a bathroom. What's worse is going beyond my own house and having to clean public restrooms or taking out trash at a restaurant! Jesus, however, being God, still washed their feet! How humbling it must have been. Now let's make this practical...

Do we take the servant attitude where we are daily? Home? School? Church? Work? Let me take a second to mention these places specifically. Alright, at home. At the end of the day, sometimes I get the attitude I deserve to be served in a few ways. After all, have you any idea what I have done today? Laundry, diapers, meals, ironing, driving here and there... What about you, friend? As the girls in my small group mentioned, as juniors and seniors in high school, they often don't want to be "bothered" by being asked to do extra helpful tasks around the house, especially when they are "in the middle of something." We can all relate. At school, we think of the lowliest of jobs as the facilities workers. Yes, they get paid to pick up and take out trash, but if your trash misses the can, pick it up and put it in. Jesus would. Bottom line. Let's show His love and servanthood. Now, at church, there are jobs there that people don't want too! Sometimes people avoid jobs that require arriving early in the morning, such as greeting. Let's see, my husband and I often stay late after events cleaning up trash or resetting the worship area long after the event has ended and attendees have gone to their homes. Often when people are asked to arrive early, stay late, or help clean up, they tend to avoid it. I don't know what job you have, but I am sure there are tasks there that are not pleasant as well.

When Brett and I graduated from seminary and we were waiting on our first church job, we made money by painting a church's preschool hallway. It was quite a task and took several months, thankfully, because we needed the money for rent. Since the job was at a church, I thought it would be nice, and the painting itself was great, but I learned we get treated a lot differently by how we dressed. Brett and I obviously wore grubby clothes to paint and sweat in. I was shocked by how we were treated by people who brought their children to church. One lady in particular, ushered her children into a preschool room until our paint cart rolled by and she felt it was safe to emerge. I wanted to wear a sign that read, "I just finished seminary in preparation for ministry." I mean, really, I had just received a master's degree in counseling and my husband a master's in Christian Education! At lunch, we often ate in the fellowship hall, however, when events were held there at the church, we had to eat in a small room attached to it, and also, we were told we need to "not be seen." Needless to say, I was glad when we moved on, but it made a huge impact in remembering how to treat people. Loving them and serving them is how Christ would have us act - to everyone - no matter their job or social standing. Yesterday, strolling through Target (my favorite store), finding so many items I didn't know I needed, I heard a young employee ask a woman if he could help her find anything. She replied with, "No, y'all just have the worst selection of gift bags" and continued to push her cart with a disgusted look on her face. I almost could not believe she was so outspoken! I have worked in retail and in restaurants before though, so it didn't surprise me as much as it should have. I felt so badly for the employee just trying to earn a living like everyone else in the world. Besides, he doesn't order for the store anyway.

I think simply remembering to be a servant where we are is everything in changing our attitudes. Good or bad begins in our minds. If we can remember to be servants like Christ, we can catch our attitudes when they sour and get what I consider "uppity" and switch over to servanthood. Soon, we will naturally become more Christ-like as it becomes a habit. God bless you on your journey toward servanthood!

So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you. - John 13:12-15

Love,

Charis