Parties and events are humbling for me as I remember the old self and how God has been so patient with me.
Years ago, I would always catch myself staring at things that in my mind could have been done better. I restrain myself from complaining but I end up telling somebody my grunts. There you go. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. And that’s pride sneaking in, or rather, oozing out:
a sense of entitlement that we (attendees) deserve better, or that I could have done a better job. I guess if you’ve been doing something for years, say conceptualizing and running events from dance concerts, parties, to even church events, it’s easy to get drowned thinking you’re good at it and to spot so many wrong things in the sea of all that went well.
But the truth is, I was too preoccupied with my life that I wasn’t able to offer help when I could have. The truth is, I could have not been invited, but I was.
I don’t know if there’s somebody out there who goes through this at times, but if there is, let me share that I have learned long and hard that instead of complaining, why not offer help? Maybe you’re the help they’re missing. If you can’t help, don’t complain. Instead of grumbling, why not be thankful that you were actually invited?
It’s probably the best time to be reminded of this now, not just because this is a season of parties and events, but because it’s the season we celebrate Jesus’ birth: for you and me who are all sinners and deserve not perfect parties or events but deserve NOTHING, God became man out of His love for us. Jesus was born in a smelly, filthy place unworthy of the birth of the King of kings. He could have been born in a palace, but even His birthplace was a foretelling of His life of service. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, the God who chose to wash the smelly and dirty feet of people who were under Him, and who endured every heartbreak of His closest friends leaving Him at His worst, yet pressing on through every scorching and bloodshed for the sake of our freedom from our own wrongdoings. Whenever we feel diva-ish, let us remember:
For even the Son of Man
came not to be served but to serve,
and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45 ESV
Still munching on the fact that I have now entered the third and last trimester of my pregnancy! Please pray for a full-term, normal, painless delivery!
