Elise; Christ at the dinner table

“Hey, Elise?—Nevermind…”
“What?”
“Well, I was just going to see if you could fill up my glass of water, but I don’t want to bother you. I can do it myself…”
“No! It’s okay! If you need it filled up again, I can do it.”

Knocked between the eyes by overwhelming humility,
a blow to my big head.
I was looking at Christ.
This six-year-old.
Still scented with the fragrance of being sealed with the Holy Spirit,
my new sister in Christ.
She was heaping burning coals on my selfishness.
I’m taken back, stumbling.
How I’ve despised her.
She’s everything I’m not, and have struggled to be.
confidant,
athletic,
bold,
level-headed,
socially natural,
easy-going,
and not afraid to speak her mind.
She’s the one who’s space is tidy, who offers to help Mom fold clothes, iron, wash dishes, and clean.
She’s the one always ready to help, as I slip away for some alone time to write and think.
and now this raw display of selflessness;
tonight I was faced with Christ at the dinner table.
Christ in my dear sister, Elise.
“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not some to be served, but to serve…”*

Lord, I ask that you grant me humility, a humble heart. Teach me how to serve. Give me the humility to learn from my younger sister , my dear, dear sister whom I cherish with all my heart, Elise, your precious selfless servant.

*Matthew 20:26-28