Philippians 2:1-4 (The Message)
If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Today we welcome a new contributor – Ashley Bowler. Ashley is a young mom of two beautiful girls and wife of Shaun Polhemus. She grew up in New Hampshire spending summers at Wanakee UMC. She loves animals (especially cats), camping, and anything that involves dark chocolate. Ashley is so grateful to be welcomed into the loving community that is Medford UMC.
Reflection
Adolescence is tough; everything feels personal and world ending. My experience was not helped by my own ridiculous competitive edge. I remember grudges I used to hold against other girls for slights that were just that …slight. I reflect on my time in high school and cringe at the girl who wasted energy on achieving “popularity” by trying to squeeze myself into a category of clique that doesn’t even matter outside of the teen existence. As an adult, I can look back and see how I’ve grown and if I could go back with the knowledge I have now, how I would do things differently. For now, all I can do is appreciate my maturity and embrace a sense of humility in life.
I am friends with many of those girls from high school on Facebook. Now many of us are exhausted moms doing our best to turn raging toddlers into emotionally regulated human beings. Instead of jealousy or angst when I see those beautiful pictures from family gatherings or trips to some exciting place, I just feel pure joy.
“Good for you, Mama!” I think. “When can we hang out and teach our kids how to be friends?”
The world is a tough place. If there’s anything I’ve learned since my adolescence and since becoming a parent, it’s that everyone is struggling. Everyone. All in different ways. The best thing we can do is lift each other up every chance we have.
Philippians 2:1-4 reminds us of this concept. If you’ve learned anything at all from being a Christian, let it be to lift others above yourself. If we want to spread Christianity and share the love of Christ, then we need to do that by saying “Good for you, Mama!” as often as we can. If we find ourselves holding grudges for the imagined slights of others towards us, we will be stuck in an adolescent state of mind and heart, which really is hurting ourselves more than anyone else. If we can step back from our own competitive edge, if we can embrace humility and give others opportunities to succeed beyond ourselves, that’s how we know we’ve matured in our Christianity.
Ashley Bowler
For Pondering & Prayer
In what ways do you feel like you’ve matured in your Christianity?
What opportunities do we have day today to lift others above ourselves?
Prayer: Jesus, we strive to follow your example. Please, guide us as we embrace humility. Allow us the maturity and strength to lift others above ourselves so that they may do well even when we wish their achievements were ours. Help us to understand that the success of those loved by You is our success as a faithful and loving community. It takes a village to raise our children, it takes your grace and our humility to raise our neighbors. In your name we pray, amen.