Submission

     Upon first seeing that this weeks discipline to practice was Submission I was very confused. How exactly do you practice submission as a discipline in any situation? What came to mind is how the Bible call wives to submit to their husbands and children to their parents. So with this in mind, to me submission meant respect and to a degree it also made me think of heirerchichal relationships. The truth is Submission is a lot more complicated and beautiful than that.

     Submission gives us the freedom to put aside the heavy burden of always needing to have it our way. It is self-denial which means "the freedom to give way to others. It means to hold others' interests above our interests. In this way self-denial releases us from self-pity." Submission is not just a discipline that people who are lower on the hierarchy must practice, it is a discipline everybody has to practice. We see this in Jesus' life and teachings, he became a servant to all, and He is the King of Kings!

     One of the ways in which to act out submission is towars our neighbors and those we meet in the course of our daily lives. This entails small acts of kindness. "No task is too small, too trifling, for each one is an opportunity to live in submission." This is how I decided I would be acting out Submission this week. I would go through my days and if I saw an opportunity to do something nice for them I would do it. I also decided that it had to be wih a genuine, positive attitude.

     I did not completely flunk this discipline but I did get very distracted and forget a great many times. Truth be told I only clearly recognized twice the need for something to be done for someone. I did take those opportunities but as I think back on my week I can think of many more things that I could have done. The most obvious one was I noticed dishes in the sink at my apartment, including two pans, and the dishwasher full of clean dishes. None of them were my dishes but I decided that I would take care of it. I hate dishes, but I tried as best as I could to have a positive attitude.

     I came to realize that I get so busy, between full-time school, a part time job, and volunteering at two places I feel like I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands. I tend to become very selfish and self-absorbed during these hours. If I had not been so self-absorbed I probably would have noticed more things that I could do for others  but I was too busy thinking about myself and taking advantage of my free time. I hope to change this aspect of myslef. I'd love to be someone who practices self-denial. I want to be able to put my own wants aside in order to help with the needs and wants of others.