The Big Talk (8/2/2023)

Yesterday I had “the big talk” with my 11-year-old grandson. No, not that talk. His mom is having surgery this week to repair her ACL and meniscus. She will be unable to do her normal things for 6 weeks. And she is going to need help doing simple things like refilling her drink and taking the laundry to the washer. So, I sat my grandson down for “the big talk” to get him up to speed and psyched for this.

I explained to him the situation and that we need his help. I assured him he is up to what we are asking of him; he is taller than me and I suspect even brighter. I reminded him of all his mom has done for him these past 11 years and suggested that it was payback time. I told him that while I will be there a lot to help, there will be times I am not. And at those times, whatever his mom asks, he is to say, “You bet, Mom” or “Sure thing, Mom,” or even “I’d be happy to do that, Mom.” And last of all, I told him that we are all going to smile the whole time we are doing anything to help his mom. I ended with a simple question, “Understood?” He smiled and said, “You bet, Grandma.”

As I drove home after “the big talk,” my mind wandered to our Savior (which happens a lot, you know). I was praying for His help and for my daughter’s healing. And then my mind went where the Spirit took it, to Jesus’ final discourse with His disciples in the Gospel of John (a big talk for sure). Knowing the ordeal that was before Him and that this was His last evening with his disciples before his death, what He chose to say and do tells us so much. And what did He do? He began by washing the feet of the disciples. He put on an apron and served others. And then He asked his disciples, “Do you realize what I have done for you?” Then he summed it all up by telling them, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (Jn 13: 13).

This image stayed with me all evening right up to bedtime. Our Savior modeled for us servanthood, serving others, considering the needs of others. And He told us that as He had done, we were to also do. He taught us that He had not come to be served but to serve (Mt. 20:28). Service to others is to be a part of our journey if we seek to follow in His footsteps.

As we journey in faith, full of hope, and fueled by love, let us be people of service to others, loving service in the name of our LORD. Let us seek to be of help to others who are in need, and let us smile the whole while we are serving.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.