In the movie The Princess Diaries, the character Mia Thermopolis (played by Anne Hathaway), after previously refusing her rightful role as the future queen of the country, tells the citizens that she will indeed accept the position. Though only a line from a movie, it has stuck with me often through the years:
“But, then I wondered how I’d feel after abdicating my role as Princess of Genovia. Would I feel relieved? Or would I feel sad? And then I realized how many stupid times a day I used the word ‘I’. In fact, probably all I ever do is think about myself. And how lame is that when there’s, like, 7 billion other people out there on the planet…” [emphasis mine].
Yes, there are difficult sacrifices and disappointments right now. There are changed plans, cancelled vacations, postponed funerals/celebrations of life, and even weddings that initially had hundreds of guests invited now taking place in the bride’s parents’ living room.
It just doesn’t look like it used to…like we wanted it to…like we thought it would or should.
We’re not going to do it right every time. We’re all just taking the next step, hoping it’s the right one. Our president personally has never faced this size of a crisis, and yet I applaud his wisdom in surrounding himself with those whose experience and training in their areas of expertise can help our country the most. Our health-care professionals could not have known that this was coming, nor could they have anticipated its magnitude…and its ramifications. Our educators are facing each day with more question marks than periods and using far beyond their “normal” work hours to learn new methods for passing along information to the future leaders. Our small business owners are inspiring us with their ability to utilize whatever it takes to stay afloat. Our families are pulling together to stay positive, even when routines have changed from the comfortable to the unknown.
We’re making it happen. We’re in this together. But we’re still human. And humans are innately selfish. Like the line from the movie I quoted above, we find ourselves using the word I far too often right now.
Am I suggesting that we neglect ourselves and never think of what is best for us as individuals? Not by a long shot! I am, however, asking you to walk with me as I, too, strive to remember the words of C.S. Lewis:
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.”
O sweet faith-friend, allow me, in love, to encourage you to reach outside of yourself in your response to the current event. Make it your goal today to overuse the word you:
“How are you doing right now?”
“How may I help you today?”
“How may I pray for you?”
Yes. It will require time to pick up the phone, to send an e-mail or text message—to momentarily set aside your own need for the comfortable. But that time has been made available to you. That time is worth it. From those you love to those you barely know, the compassion and concern housed in the little three-letter word you will wrap the hearer in a feeling of safety, providing the knowledge that someone cares.
“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4, NASB).