The Servant’s Gift
When we moved to New Orleans with a young son, we definitely had more desire than funds. I’m pretty sure the second year we were there, we had a little vacation accrued that we could use but not enough for an extended trip. You see, by car, we were over 12 hours from where we grew up so just the trip there and back would use up a day. We decided that it may be better if we stayed in the Big Easy and didn’t go home that year.
To paint a little background, on my side of the family, we had the first grandchild and to make matters worse, we lived only about a mile from my parents before we moved. Both grandparents had ample access to their young grandchild. Unfortunately, a few months after we moved down there, my father passed away between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, while technically not the first Christmas after my dad’s passing, it was the first Christmas away from the grieving process of my dad’s dying.
Back to the story, when my mom heard us talk about not coming home that year, she offered to fly the three of us home for whatever time we could spend at Christmas. She could have done the opposite and made arrangements to come and visit us in New Orleans and she would have been warmly welcomed. However, she knew that if she did that, the rest of our extended family would not get to see us.
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” - Philippians 2:1-7 ESV
As I get older and reflect on my mom’s servant leader attitude, I am amazed. She never complained about how much time we spent with her compared to my wife’s family or any other petty situations that seem to be the hallmark of family gatherings.
That year, the first Gulf War was going full steam, and we had to change planes in St. Louis. For an extra security measure, they made us go through security in the St. Louis terminal again. We were tired and as I went through the X-ray device, it went off. I don’t remember if it was a belt buckle or something I left in my pocket, but I had to go back to come through again. My wife, jokingly, said that I guess I shouldn’t have swallowed those explosives. The security officer looked at her with the most serious police face I’ve ever seen and told her to never ever say anything like that. The result could have been that I’d be dragged off for a body cavity search. Luckily for us, he believed it was a sarcastic joke, and we made our flight.
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” - Proverbs 21:23
We made it home and had a great Christmas with all our extended family. Those are the memories that I find invaluable now.
“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” - 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
