the royals...
I vividly remember watching the royal wedding seven years ago when Kate and William married. I can't believe that many years have already passed! Truth be told, I am a hopeless romantic. That part of me has been tamed over the years, but I'll admit that I'm a sucker for a fairy tale love story. In fact, I visited Europe in 2005, during my senior year in high school, and I was seriously hoping I would somehow run into William or Harry. I made a point to try and pack all of my most stylish clothes in the event that magical encounter took place, but it didn't. I visited Windsor Castle and stood outside of Buckingham, and not once did I catch a glimpse of any of the royals. I don't know why I thought I'd stand a chance in the first place. I suppose it doesn't hurt to dream, right? Of course, I do think William made a great choice, and I jumped on the Kate bandwagon the first time I learned of her. I think she is the prettiest woman I have ever seen. A real class act! I don't know anything about her personal life, and obviously I don't know her personally, but I was just about as excited for her wedding as if it were my own. She was marrying the prince! I mean isn't that every little girl's dream? She was actually getting to do it, and she did so in stunning fashion.
I spent some time Saturday afternoon watching the royal wedding of Harry and Meghan. I have been excited for these two as well, but not to the same extent as William and Kate. Regardless, I'll never pass up a chance to watch a royal wedding. And I thought about what life must be like to go from being a normal girl to royalty. What a transition! Anyone who has been married knows that two becoming one is a huge adjustment. But you get to adjust as you go. The whole world isn't watching. They don't know every detail. You aren't living with the pressure of your every move being over analyzed and landing on the cover of a tabloid. There's definitely a cost that comes with being a royal. And there is a cost that comes with being married, too.
I think the enticement of the fairy tale is that you live a life of luxury. Don't you agree? The castles, the servants, the cooks, the maids. It is a life of opulence. A life of excess. A life, that although I am sure has it's difficulties, seems so easy. During our wedding shower, Aaron and I played a little game that required us to sit back to back and answer questions without seeing the other's response. I held his shoe in one hand and my shoe in the other. He did the same. We were asked a question about who would do what task after we were married and we'd answer by holding up a shoe. So, for example, "Who will do the laundry?" We each held up the shoe that belonged to me. "Who will mow the yard?" We held up Aaron's shoes. Here were just a few of the questions.
Who will do the laundry?
Who will cook?
Who will wash the dishes?
Who will clean the house?
Who will take out the trash?
Who will pay the bills?
Who will do the grocery shopping?
Who will mow the lawn?
Who will service the cars?
Who will make the bed?
If William and Kate, or Harry and Meghan, played this game, they'd keep their shoes on their feet. Because I bet someone does their laundry, cooks their meals, does their shopping, empties their trash, makes their beds, and cleans their homes. And I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't mind having someone do all of those things for me on a regular basis. At one time, I did. And then I turned five.
But there comes a moment when we grow up. We aren't children, and we aren't royals, and so we enter into marriage and parenthood and we think, "Woah?! Why am I the one doing everything around here?" Or maybe you think, "Why am I the only one working so hard?" I've discovered that being a adult means you spend the majority of time doing things you don't want to do. If we only did the things we really wanted to do, nothing would get done. Our bills wouldn't get paid, our families would be hungry and naked, and our houses would smell terrible. Yet I often feel as if I'm pouring myself out. Serving. Serving. Serving. Where's my time? How am I being served? Who is doing what for me? And then it hits me, service is what I am called to.
Jesus said, "I came to serve, not be served." The King of Kings, the Lord or Lords. He came to serve. To give. To pour himself out for the people he loved. For you, for me. And at any moment he could have easily said, "Look at what all I am doing for these people! I'm healing them, giving them sight, raising them from the dead, feeding them, providing miracle after miracle, and willingly dying for their sins to give them eternal life and what are they doing for me?" But there was never a prerequisite for his service. It wasn't done out of obligation but love. It wasn't done begrudgingly but with joy. And when I compare how I serve my people to how Jesus served, one of us is in great need of a heart check. One of us needs to brush up on her Serving 101.
"Be shepherd's of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers - not because you must but because you are willing, as God wants you to be... and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. " (1 Peter 5:2 & 4)
We serve our flock, our family, because we serve God. We serve because Jesus set the example that we are to follow. We serve because, as believers and followers of Christ, that is our responsibility and call. That is what honors and glorifies the Lord. And we serve because we know that in true service, and through service, there lies the reward. A crown because of the cross. And, unlike the ones worn by the royals, it's a crown that will never fade away.
I spent some time Saturday afternoon watching the royal wedding of Harry and Meghan. I have been excited for these two as well, but not to the same extent as William and Kate. Regardless, I'll never pass up a chance to watch a royal wedding. And I thought about what life must be like to go from being a normal girl to royalty. What a transition! Anyone who has been married knows that two becoming one is a huge adjustment. But you get to adjust as you go. The whole world isn't watching. They don't know every detail. You aren't living with the pressure of your every move being over analyzed and landing on the cover of a tabloid. There's definitely a cost that comes with being a royal. And there is a cost that comes with being married, too.
I think the enticement of the fairy tale is that you live a life of luxury. Don't you agree? The castles, the servants, the cooks, the maids. It is a life of opulence. A life of excess. A life, that although I am sure has it's difficulties, seems so easy. During our wedding shower, Aaron and I played a little game that required us to sit back to back and answer questions without seeing the other's response. I held his shoe in one hand and my shoe in the other. He did the same. We were asked a question about who would do what task after we were married and we'd answer by holding up a shoe. So, for example, "Who will do the laundry?" We each held up the shoe that belonged to me. "Who will mow the yard?" We held up Aaron's shoes. Here were just a few of the questions.
Who will do the laundry?
Who will cook?
Who will wash the dishes?
Who will clean the house?
Who will take out the trash?
Who will pay the bills?
Who will do the grocery shopping?
Who will mow the lawn?
Who will service the cars?
Who will make the bed?
If William and Kate, or Harry and Meghan, played this game, they'd keep their shoes on their feet. Because I bet someone does their laundry, cooks their meals, does their shopping, empties their trash, makes their beds, and cleans their homes. And I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't mind having someone do all of those things for me on a regular basis. At one time, I did. And then I turned five.
But there comes a moment when we grow up. We aren't children, and we aren't royals, and so we enter into marriage and parenthood and we think, "Woah?! Why am I the one doing everything around here?" Or maybe you think, "Why am I the only one working so hard?" I've discovered that being a adult means you spend the majority of time doing things you don't want to do. If we only did the things we really wanted to do, nothing would get done. Our bills wouldn't get paid, our families would be hungry and naked, and our houses would smell terrible. Yet I often feel as if I'm pouring myself out. Serving. Serving. Serving. Where's my time? How am I being served? Who is doing what for me? And then it hits me, service is what I am called to.
Jesus said, "I came to serve, not be served." The King of Kings, the Lord or Lords. He came to serve. To give. To pour himself out for the people he loved. For you, for me. And at any moment he could have easily said, "Look at what all I am doing for these people! I'm healing them, giving them sight, raising them from the dead, feeding them, providing miracle after miracle, and willingly dying for their sins to give them eternal life and what are they doing for me?" But there was never a prerequisite for his service. It wasn't done out of obligation but love. It wasn't done begrudgingly but with joy. And when I compare how I serve my people to how Jesus served, one of us is in great need of a heart check. One of us needs to brush up on her Serving 101.
"Be shepherd's of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers - not because you must but because you are willing, as God wants you to be... and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. " (1 Peter 5:2 & 4)
We serve our flock, our family, because we serve God. We serve because Jesus set the example that we are to follow. We serve because, as believers and followers of Christ, that is our responsibility and call. That is what honors and glorifies the Lord. And we serve because we know that in true service, and through service, there lies the reward. A crown because of the cross. And, unlike the ones worn by the royals, it's a crown that will never fade away.
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