Let's Count Other's More Significant than Ourselves

Thoughts for  the day, June 29, 2020

We lost my precious mother-in-law Dolores almost three years ago. Yesterday would  have been her 88^th birthday. Throughout the day I couldn’t help but think of her and how she influenced my life. She was a precious southern lady who was kind, patient and humble, loving everyone she met.

She was slow moving, savoring every part of life. It was a total culture shock when I first went to the Statkewicz home for Sunday dinner when I was fourteen years old.  My mom, cooked, put the food on the table and as soon as you took the very last bite, she was grabbing your plate and washing it before dessert was served. She had all the food in the refrigerator within minutes of serving it in an effort to avoid salmonella. But the Statkewicz family saw eating as an all-day affair. The food was put out and stayed out all day long with no worries of food poisoning. Steve’s mom wanted to ensure that no one left with an empty stomach and her preference was that you left miserable because you couldn’t stop eating her famous fried  chicken, okra or four-layer delight.

 One  thing I learned was that God is prevalent in all denominations.  I was raised Baptist and Steve Catholic. Dolores loved God and her Catholic faith, but it was her deep love of other’s that affected all she met.  You need not be in a hurry if you went somewhere with her because you were likely going to be the last to leave. In her later years, I picked her up and we went to church together. There wasn’t a time that our car was not one of the last in the parking lot. She’d say, “Chele I’ll be right back I am just going to go check on the Edwards, or see how Debbie and Cindy are doing.” If we went together to Grandparent’s Day, she talked with every student, teacher, and the entire faculty until she found a connection with their family.  If we went together to a funeral, we were always the last to leave—as she was making friends with the funeral staff on our way out. She saw value in everyone she met. She truly lived the words that Paul shared with the Philippians, “Do nothing for rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves”(2:3). Today, let’s take these words to heart and let other’s we meet know their importance and value. Have a blessed day!