Stuff That Matters In Life

For those who may, for whatever reason, have to go on a low-iodine diet, I am with you.

What led up to this was a thyroidectomy, a diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer, and the impending radioactive iodine treatment (RAI).

Today, I started the 2-week low iodine diet to prepare for the RAI plus one more week after that for the body scan. The day after the body scan is when I go back to regular foods.

A brief summary of the foods high in iodine that I cannot eat – anything from the sea, including seaweed, agar, sea salt; dairy products including cheese, milk, butter – all my favorites, bummer!; potato skin; soy products including soy sauce – I can live without it; egg yolk; most of the beans such as navy, lima, etc.; and of course, iodized salt which most restaurants use to salt their foods, so that means no eating out, no convenience foods.

What I can eat – meats in moderation; fresh veggies except rhubarb; fresh fruits; anything that does not contain the items above.

Since commercial baked goods have eggs and milk in it, good-bye croissants and Hawaiian Sweet Bread.

What I ate today:

Breakfast – oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins, no milk; 2 -egg- white omelet with a little bit of diced tomatoes and green pepper.

Lunch – grilled 2 oz boneless skinless chicken thigh with nothing on it, 1/2 sweet potato.

Dinner – rice, stir fry beef and onions with non-iodized salt, Chinese veggies plain, brussel sprouts, vegetable soup.

I made pumpkin bread (without eggs or milk) and chicken soup with barley, carrots and zucchini as snacks.

This article “Don’t want the freedom of the empty nest” resonated with me, particularly these paragraphs:

“The sad thing is, when my own children were small our family activities had to be restricted mostly to free things. My decision to be a stay-at-home mom at that point meant an entertainment budget so tiny as to be nonexistent.

I guess I could call my kids and announce the exciting news that I can now swing the money for pony rides, but I don’t think they would react quite how they would have a decade or so ago….

I hear so many people my age talk about the freedom of the empty nest. No need to worry about getting a babysitter to go out. No need to worry that a kid’s recital or sports meet might pre-empt your wish to go somewhere with your friends. These things are true, but it’s also true that I can no longer visit Santa at the mall or attend Easter egg hunts. I’m not sure it’s a fair trade.”

Since we had kids, my life has been all about enjoying my life WITH my kids.

With just a couple more years before my nest is totally empty, I am trying to plan on how to enjoy life as an adult without kids.

I suppose that’s why I like to hang around the kids at church. I suppose that’s why I want to go live in a foreign country for a while. That is something I never wanted to do with kids, something that would’ve been bothersome with kids, and now I can do it freely with my husband.

My challenge is to maintain enthusiasm for life and not let age and health issues…and the empty feelings of the empty nest get the best of me.

When you need to make a decision and ask for God’s leading, how do you know what His answer is?

Two situations recently taught me something about discerning God’s leading.

A friend had to make a decision – yes or no in accepting a position.

Me: “Why don’t you ask God to give you a sign?”

Friend: “I did. And I didn’t get that sign.”

The deadline to give his answer was up, so he gave No as his answer.

A day later, he changed his mind. God gave him the sign he was asking for that next day. So he accepted the position.

—

Recently I was asked to speak to a group of girls. I had some hesitations as to whether or not I’d be good for this group; I wanted to say No.

But I decided to ask God for a sign. I prayed and prayed, but He didn’t give me the sign I was asking for. The deadline to give the answer was coming up tomorrow, and I want to say No.

Then today, God showed me the sign I was asking for. So now I will have to say Yes.

—

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t usually ask God for a sign. You can’t live life asking God for signs all the time. That’s not the Christian life.  The Christian life is not like astrology looking for signs in the stars, or living superstitiously.

But I believe that once in a while, you need a definitive answer. And you are honestly confused. You want to do what God wants you to do, and you just can’t decide. Your relationship with God is good, you’re in the Word, and you’ve been praying, but you can’t seem to decide.

I believe that God wants us to know his will. He is not purposely hiding it from us.

There are times when it is appropriate to ask God for a sign.

The lesson I learned from the above situations is that the sign may not be given right away. We have to ask, seek and knock. Asking for a sign is not an easy way out to know God’s will. It actually requires us to look to God more, and wait on Him to answer in His time.

Well, I know there are a lot of opinions about asking God for signs. What about Gideon? What about Ahaz? What about Moses? They all had varying experiences of asking for signs from God.

All I know is, God is never far from us. If we really desire to know Him, He avails himself to us, lowers Himself to speak in a way that we can hear Him.

When I turned 40, my sisters warned me that I will soon be getting white hair. My mother started getting white hair at about that age, and so did my two older sisters.

Eleven years later, and I am holding the count at 3 white hairs. I count them everyday to make sure there are not more than 3. My sisters are amazed that I haven’t had to color my hair.

But I think that this year, my hair color will change. With my thyroid issues and a run to ER with my husband, I am begin to show my age.

—

Last Sunday at church, we were talking to a few people about cruises. I never wanted to go on a cruise because I don’t want to be stuck on a ship. What’s the fun of that? I want to see and experience different places. I like joining tours where they take you place to place.

“Cruise is a good vacation for old people,” G said. “You don’t have to bother packing and unpacking everyday to go to a different place.”

Well, maybe in a few years, I’ll be ready to cruise.

Bad news: my husband had chest pains and went to ER

Good news: it wasn’t a heart attack

Bad news: his EKG was abnormal, looked liked a heart attack

Good news: he felt fine with no more chest pains when he was at the hospital

Bad news: he had to stay overnight at the hospital in CCU to run more tests to make sure

Good news: he had plenty of time to read the sci fi book I borrowed from the library for him

Bad news: they woke him up every 4 hours to do blood work

Good news: all blood work was normal, no heart damage

Bad news: he had to be transferred to another hospital to do an angiogram

Good news: he got to ride in an ambulance 🙂

Bad news: waited 5 hours for the angiogram

Good news: there was wifi so we could use our iPhones while waiting

Bad news: the bleeding from the angiogram caused some bruising on his thigh

Good news: angiogram showed no blockage in his arteries

Good news: the bleeding did not have complications, we were able to go home

Good news: had delicious porridge and lentil soup from friends waiting for us when we got home

Good news: had lots of love and support from friends

God is good.

The King’s Christmas List is a cute children’s book written by Eldon Johnson. It’s a hardback beautifully illustrated by Bonnie Leick. I would consider this a gift book appropriate for children under 10 years old, reading this book with their parents, snuggled under covers with a cup of hot chocolate on a cool Christmasy day.

The story begins with little Emma receiving a magical invitation to the King’s birthday party. On the way to the party, Emma encounters opportunities to reveal her true heart of compassion and learns to give the kind of presents to the King that pleases him.

This simple story illustrates compassion and sacrifice in a way that children can relate to.  The end of the book shows how we can give to World Vision and Blood:Water Mission. It’s a good book to teach children Biblical values.

Disclosure:  Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for this review. Opinions are entirely my own.

My recent surgery experience taught me a few things about praying for others.

*I found it hard to pray for myself. I couldn’t concentrate, and was distracted by attending to immediate details and worries. However, I was reminded that many people were praying for me. I was comforted to know that God heard all those prayers, even if he didn’t hear any from me.

I see now the importance of praying for others. When we are more detached from the situation, it’s easier to pray on the behalf of those who are too close to the situation to pray.

*While the prayers for physical healing was not answered by God the way I hoped (more about that later), I think the prayers to remain strong emotionally and spiritually were more important and definitely answered.

I didn’t like having my arms poked with needles all the time. The IV in my hand, the air tube in my nose, the bland diet, not being able to wash my hair, not being able to go outside, even just for a day, was not pleasant. Imagine multiplying that by days, or a week or weeks on end, in and out of ER. Life is like that for someone with a chronic or prolonged illness. The emotional state is very frail. It’s so easy to get discouraged, to be exasperated, to break down and fall into depression.

We cannot expect God to answer every prayer for healing (otherwise there would be immortality); physical healing is not always the most important prayer. Praying for emotional stability and spiritual stamina, to feel God’s love and presence, is the most important part of going through a physical illness.

*Prayer for someone has to be real. It’s not just a passing comment of “I’ll pray for you.” Imagine if people said they are praying for me and actually didn’t. I would’ve been left with no one to fight the spiritual warfare for me.

I will be more serious about praying for others, as I know they are depending on me to experience victory in their spiritual lives.

I posted about my surgery experience on my parenting site, if you care to read that.

Here are some additional thoughts:

* When my surgeon and anesthesiologist came to see me just prior to the surgery, they asked, “Do you have any questions for us?” I said, “No question. I just want you to know my life is in your hands. I hope you are well-rested, alert, and in a good mood!” The surgeon replied, “Well, I am a little tired – just kidding!”

I wanted to ask the anesthesiologist, “How many months have you been out of med school?” He looked awfully young. But I didn’t dare ask lest his answer makes me more nervous. I am at the age now where everyone looks young.

My surgeon looks very young too, but he’s Chinese, so I know he’s probably 20 years older than he looks. He went to Yale, so I didn’t have any questions for him.

* At 4:30am, when I am in the hospital recovery, the lab tech calls into my room, “Good Morning!” 4:30AM!!  I don’t remember asking for wake up service at the front desk. All she did was take my blood pressure. Then at 6:30AM, another person came in to draw blood. Reality kicks in, I’m not on vacation at a resort, no matter how nice the room is.

* I have to say, the nursing staff was very nice and attentive. I always ask the nurse if it’s a busy day. That will gauge how loud I have to scream if I needed anything. The night nurse told me she had 4 patients. I didn’t have to scream at all. In fact, my room was right in front of the nursing station. It was close enough that their chatter kept me awake, but not close enough to hear the gossip. Too bad.

* The steel operating table has a warm pad on it. How considerate. That was the last thing I remembered before I was put under. It’s funny what you observe and what you don’t.

* I have a lot more empathy for people with chronic illnesses. It’s pretty horrible to have needles poking your arms several times a day. You don’t get used to it.

* I was expecting to have lots of opportunity for quiet prayer and have a sort of personal retreat with God when I am resting. But I was unable to concentrate to pray, nor to think of Scriptures. So now I know how important it is to pray for others in need, because it’s hard to pray for yourself.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me. The prayers counts in the Kingdom of God and to me.

I read this from Dennis Rainey of Family LIfe:

The choices you make today or tomorrow are not confined to today or tomorrow. A baby step of obedience may be all the ground you need to cover today in order to put yourself in position to launch a major spiritual breakthrough later on.

As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of.”

What an incredible proposition!
…Even a trivial indulgence in lust or anger today represents the loss of territory in our hearts that the enemy can secure, giving him an inroad to launch an attack against you–an attack that otherwise would have been impossible. Each misstep offers him a stronger foothold for marshaling his counteroffensives against you, against your marriage, against your family–if not right now, then at a later time when he knows he can inflict the greatest amount of damage.

So it is absolutely crucial that you submit your passions to Jesus Christ each day, denying yourself the temporary pleasures of sin and therefore gaining ground that can only be won through consistent, ongoing, long-term obedience. It takes a great deal of courage to say no to the appetites of the flesh, especially over time.

Someone has said, “It is upon the little hinges of obedience that the door of opportunity swings.” God wants to open those “doors” for us. The question is: Will we be obedient?

—

I’m not a very dependable person. I am often late, I procrastinate, and I don’t like to commit myself to hard things, and when I do, I want to find some excuse to back out.

But I hope that taking small steps of obedience that are relatively easy will help me become a better person in the long run.

Our family is weird. We love brussel sprouts, spinach, artichokes, and all kinds of vegetables.

I saw this at Trader Joe’s today. It’s the first time I’ve seen a brussel sprout stalk. Rather pretty, don’t you think? It can be a centerpiece – for the right table setting.

It’ll be exciting to pluck them and cook them tomorrow.

It’s quite an enigma to me why we remember certain rather useless things from our childhood, while probably forgetting a lot of important things.

I remember growing up when we had relatives over for dinner, my mother would start washing dishes right after dinner. My father would tell her to relax and enjoy the conversation with the relatives. Her response was, “It’s my job to wash the dishes. If I relax now, I will still have to wash them later. I would rather do it now to get it out of the way.”

Every time I look at the dishes in the sink, or at a chore I have to do, I remember what my mother said. Sometimes I would try to do it quickly to get it out of the way. But at other times, her words inspires me to do the opposite. “It is my job, and that means I can choose to do it now or later. I’ll do it later.”

Either way, my mother’s words had an influence on me. 🙂

I dreamt last night that I was having a baby. My water broke but the baby wasn’t coming out.

Then I woke up and had to go to the bathroom. A full bladder probably explained why I had that dream.

If I had to do it again, I would plan my life to adopt a child after I had my own. I’ve had fleeting thoughts of adopting, but it was more just wishful thinking without intentional planning.

I thought adoption was only for women who could not have their own biological children. So when I thought of adopting, I did not let the idea take root because I thought it was ridiculous to adopt since I was rather fertile in being able to conceive my own children. But recently, I met a few families who are in the process of adopting or have adopted after having their own children. I also have been listening to Family Life and Dennis Rainey is very big on adoption; his own family has 4 biological children and 1 adopted child – and he can’t remember which one is adopted, he says.

I would’ve wanted to adopt a little African baby with cute tight curls and long eye lashes, and give him a name that sounds Chinese like Bruce Lee  🙂

It’s been said that a good counselor is someone who has gone through a lot of pain him/herself. I think it is true.

Most mental health professionals go into their line of work because they’ve gone through some hard times, and want to help others. They genuinely want to help people and can help them overcome difficulties as they have.

2 Corithians 1:3-4 is right – …the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

A friend of mine whom I value as a very good counselor had a very difficult life growing up. Her mother is bipolar, a very dysfunctional family, parents were divorced when she was young, faced extreme financial hardships, acted as a surrogate mother to her younger siblings. By God’s grace, she is well-adjusted today. But I am sure it was a difficult journey.

All these experiences has given her sharp insight into the human experience. But her skill as a counselor did not come overnight. And it came at a cost.

My favorite Bible teacher Dottie used to say, God doesn’t waste anything. Whatever we are going through, God has a purpose. Maybe it’s to help someone else, maybe it’s to help you grow in ways you wouldn’t have otherwise, maybe it’s so that you can be a counselor to someone someday.

Our experiences in life are never meaningless.

A few weekends ago at our church retreat, the speaker talked about having a memorial of Bible verses.

Memorials are things that remind us of something that happened in the past. The Lincoln Memorial, the USS Arizona Memorial. Memorials, often referred to in the Old Testament, also serves to pass on history to future generations.

Memorials of Bible verses are verses that made a particular impact on us and serves to remind us of God’s work. The speaker at our retreat said, whenever he feels discouraged in his Christian walk, he reread the verses that convicted him to become a Christian. Whenever he felt he wanted to quit the ministry, he reread the verses that called him to be a pastor as a young man. Remembering the past faithfulness of God helps him to persevere.

I have a few Bible verses memorials that I often think of as well.

Philippians 1:21 : For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

When I was in college, I attended the West Coast Conference where I challenged to commit my life to God, wherever he would take me. I would be willing to be a missionary, in full time ministry, to serve wherever I am. After I graduated and worked a couple of years, I decided to attend seminary, in preparation for where God might lead me next. I did not have a particular call to a specific ministry, but Philippians 1:21 reminded that I am committed to live for Christ, and attending seminary was the next step.

I still do not think I have a particular calling but in hindsight, perhaps the calling is for me to serve in a small church. Sometimes I entertain the thought of going to my friends’ bigger churches. But they don’t need me there. To be in a small church means more opportunities to serve, and I’ve committed my life to God to do that.

Psalm 37:4 : Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

God has used relationship problems in my life to show me that it is only in delighting in him that I find ultimate fulfillment. After becoming a Christian in 10th grade, my teenage hormones, along with attention from boys for the first time, challenged me to not look to people but to God. Going through a few crushes and breakups, Psalm 37:4 was there to point me to seek God first instead of waiting for that phone call or that date. The parallel verse in the New Testament in Matthew 6:33 spoke to me in the same way: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (In those day, we read the King James version!)

After I was married, I found that Psalm 37:4 continues to be a memorial that I look to. Marriage does not end your loneliness nor guarantee happiness. My husband cannot meet all my needs. It is only in delighting in God that the desires of my heart will be fulfilled.

John 6:68 : Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”

This is not a well known verse, but one that is most meaningful to me. Even today my eyes well up with tears as I think of the circumstances that God brought this verse to me 20 years ago. Without going into details, my 4 month old baby died after unsuccessful open heart surgery. I am sure you would understand the doubts and questions I faced. I struggled with holding on to faith in God.

In John 6:68, after Jesus made a bold declaration of being the only way to salvation, many disciples left him. Jesus was no longer popular, being a Christ follower was no longer easy. Jesus turned to his twelve disciples and asked them, “Are you going to leave me too?” God was also asking me, gently with love, Are you going to leave me because being Christian is not easy? Are you going to leave me because you think you can’t trust me anymore?

Simon Peter answered, my paraphrase and my answer to Jesus, “If I leave, what’s the alternative? You’ve always been good to me in the past. No one else has any better answers. You are the one with the words of eternal life.”

Over the years, I still wonder if there are any better answers to life. As you’ve heard me say, Stand To Reason and Greg Koukl has helped me become more and more certain that there are no better answers. And I go back to John 6:68 as my memorial – In tough times, Jesus has the words of eternal life. It is in Him  that I have fulfillment, delight, and meaning, the abundant life and eternal life. And yes, I can trust him, even when it’s hard.

I’ve collected a few more memorials of Bible verses, including the book of Habakkuk. I’ve already written several posts about Habakkuk.

For those who read this blog, all 12 of you, I encourage you to find verses that you can hang on to, and meditate on them often.

I read this from my daily email from Family Life, and found it very encouraging. As Dennis Rainey says in this piece, I haven’t the foggiest idea of what God is up to. But either He is sovereign or He’s not. Since I believe He is, then that settles that.

This is a true story.

In the 1870s, when the citizens of Swan Quarter, North Carolina, began looking for a piece of property for a new Methodist church building, their sights fell on a nice piece of elevated land where the structure would be reasonably protected from coastal flooding. But the landowner had more lucrative plans for the property and declined their offer.

So the church was built on another site and dedicated on September 16, 1876. Within a matter of days, however, a monster hurricane reached landfall at this precise location. One casualty of the storm was the brand-new Swan Quarter United Methodist Church, which was lifted up off its pilings by the surging tide of storm water and was carried north—floating, intact—and then inexplicably east, eventually coming to rest on the very tract of land its leaders had originally requested. As legend tells it, the property owner came with trembling hand to sign over the title deed to the church.

Yes, God is in control. Since 1968, as I have attempted to walk with God, on more than one occasion I have had to admit that I don’t have the foggiest idea about what He is up to. He is God and I am not. I don’t understand: infertility or the loss of a child, a chronic or terminal illness, the death of a young mom or dad, and a thousand other things that make zero sense, humanly.

What I do know from the Scriptures is that God has a unique purpose for every person and for everything that happens to us. I have come to the conclusion that either He is the sovereign God, totally in control, or He is not in control at all (which I do not believe at all).

He made us to trust Him, regardless of the circumstances. And that is reflected in the new name of that Methodist church in North Carolina that God moved to solid ground:

Providence United Methodist Church.

Ever wonder how God can use you in a significant way? Even an average Joe like you? In Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado gives an excellent perspective on living a life of “goodness that outlives the grave, love that outlasts the final breath.”

I expected this book to be just another inspirational book on living for God. But Max Lucado always surprises me. The stories he tells are not only entertaining and heartwarming, they illustrate how we as common people, can live a life that impacts others.

The book is also full of practical suggestions. How to be generous, to work with others, withstand criticism, practice humility – these are some of the major concepts that were explained clearly in each chapter. A verse and prayer follow each chapter help the reader internalize the concepts.

Max Lucado has a way of making Biblical truth come alive and get down to where we live. I always enjoy reading his books and come away spiritually refreshed.

Disclosure:  Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for this review. Opinions are entirely my own.

Our former preaching pastor Mike used to say that we are a Costco generation – when we have a need, we don’t have to ask God for help; we get it from Costco.

I find that true of myself.

Have a problem? Google it.

Call Dr. Laura. Get a self-help book. Ask a friend. Post it on Facebook. Find a therapist. Log on to a forum. Join a small group. There is an app for that.

There is an overabundance of resources on every subject imaginable. And they are all  good stuff,  all very helpful.

But I find that this “Costco” mentality has changed the way I view God.  Even as a Christian, I do not expect much supernatural intervention from God. I expect God to work through the usual channels to provide for me, thus I am not actively praying for God’s intervention.

For example, we believe that  God works through a doctor to heal us. After a while, we bypass God altogether, save a perfunctory prayer to heal me of the infection when I know perfectly well that it’s the antibiotic that’s going to heal me.

As a Western Christian, I am a pragmatist. Couple that with celebrating the power of the individual and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, where does that leave God?

—-

I had breakfast with a friend last week. She is a very insightful therapist, and once in a while, I run situations by her for some “free” advice.

After I described what I was facing, she surprised me by saying, “You have to fast and pray.”

Two weeks ago, I advised another friend to find a good therapist. I just told her to fast and pray, and I will join her.

They are not my kids but I felt like a proud parent as I sat in the front row and took a video of “A” and “C” reciting their Bible verses.

I’ve been the Sunday School teacher of these kids on and off over the last 5 years. As I watch them share what the Bible meant to them, I felt a rush of pride and tears welled up in my eyes as I see how much they’ve matured.It gave me a deep sense of satisfaction to know that I am a part of the lives of these children.

I’ve also experienced the thrill of giving workshops where participants came up afterwards to thank me for influencing them. To have been a part in their lives, only for a couple of hours, gave me a sense of satisfaction as well.

But investing in someone’s life for 5 years is different than having an influence on someone in a 2-hour workshop. It takes a lot more to develop a relationship with someone over a long period of time, to be there when they need you, to go through seasons of life together. It takes commitment, sacrifice, resources, and most of all, being real.

What I mean by that is, in a one-shot workshop, I can be  dynamic, I can be funny, I can appear to be loving and kind and compassionate. I can look good and people like me. But they don’t really know the real me.

With people that I am in a relationship with for several years, we see each other’s good, bad and ugly. They see me when I’m down, and grouchy, and at my worst. I open myself to being vulnerable. Yet, that investment of deeper relationships pays off to give greater satisfaction.

People think that this kind of community and relationship only happens with your peers. But it can happen intergenerationally if you give it a chance. I experienced it with “A” and “C” who are in elementary school. I thank God for our little church family of all ages.

I always thought the role of Counselor Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, was ridiculous. They need someone on the team to understand people’s feelings? I thought her function was rather useless because her insights are often obvious. Her telepathic abilities comes up with something like – I feel that the people on the planet do not like to be invaded. Duh!

But recently, I’m finding myself as a sort of Counselor Troi (sans her shapeliness, unfortunately). While dealing with various issues of my dad’s stroke and relocation, I am the sibling who gets emotional. I am the one who says things like, “We have to consider his feelings and what he wants.” While my brother and sisters are ready to take action to do what we think is best for him, I interject with, “Let’s look at it from his point of view. Is it what he would want?”

I sound like Deanna Troi.

There was a time I considered being a counselor. I took a few counseling classes, but decided it would be too emotionally draining. It is draining enough in my work as a real estate agent. I experience with my clients the anguish and excitement of buying and selling a home. I work as if I am doing it for myself. Everyone’s experiences become my own.

Maybe Counselor Troi’s role is useful after all.

Jesus calls us to be servants – the greatest is the servant of all.

I don’t mind being a servant, if I am the one who volunteers and chooses to be a servant.  I determine what I will or will not do.

But I don’t like to be forced to be a servant – when someone orders me around, or when I am forced to perform menial tasks. I don’t like to be pushed to beyond my boundaries. But that in fact is the true spirit of servanthood.

Servanthood on my terms is not servanthood at all. I am counted as very little in God’s Kingdom.

This means that when circumstances forces me to humble myself, to take some abuse, I should not complain or be indignant. It really is an opportunity to exemplify true servanthood and climb the ladder of success in God’s Kingdom.