When my kids reached about 3rd grade I gave up my relentless pursuit of being the Parent of the Year and chose to not know much of anything Where are my soccer socks? I don’t know. When is this paper due? No clue. Did you pack my lunch? Probably not. When is my next practice? I’m just not sure.
Seriously, of course I knew the answers!!!!!! I just admitted to nothing. The kids would function in response to my lack of functioning, so I aimed low for myself and high for them. They could handle it, and eventually we worked out a good and proper balance of labor.
I expected my kids to be fine. What I didn’t expect was how much I would love not having to know everything, not having to be right all the time. What a relief! I admit to being a control freak, but with 6 kids, that is a straight shot to blood pressure medication. I needed to learn to let them become responsible kids on the path to becoming responsible adults, and to learn that this benefitted all of us. We all needed to function. No one needed to over-function,
One of the virtues that I suggested that you pray about is humility. At its heart, humility is about honoring not just our gifts, but every person’s gift. It is about allowing each person their power and giving space for people to thrive. It is about sharing and cooperation done out of love, out of a deep regard for what God has created each of us to be.
Humility is not about being less, it is about allowing everyone to be enough. It is not about feeling bad about yourself. It is about knowing yourself and trusting in your gifts. It is about seeing Christ in every person, and yourself. It is about healthy and holy balance.
Humility is not about apologizing, it is about building healthy relationships. It’s about giving everyone a chance, and especially those who are often not included or listened to. It’s about being quiet enough and present enough to notice. Not being at the center so you can build a circle. And most importantly, knowing when it is the appropriate moment for you to be a leader.
Pray about this with me. Humility is hard to practice in our self-centered, power driven culture. Jesus is our example.