"I want"

this morning, I had some time after seeing the American trainers off to sit down and have some "me" time before church service.

Went to KK Macs. For a much needed "me" time. The last week has been too hectic for me. No time for socializing, no time to sit down and actually do my work, no time for a bit of "me" time, no time for movies and hanging out.

A cup of coffee, a big breakfast and a pen and my journal was all that I needed. Thinking, reflecting, meditating.

There was a family seated next to me having their breakfastt. The 2 little boys kept yelling their requests to their parents and their domestic helper. "I WANT CHILLI! I WANT JAM! I WANT TISSUE! AUNTY OPEN THE CHILLI! AUNTY this AUNTY that!" Honestly, if I were the mother, I would have told the kids off for their rude attitudes. No sense of respect at all. No "please", and definitely no "thank you".

Children in a generation of insolence. A generation of dependence on someone - The Domestic Helper, otherwise known as The Maid.

During the leadership certification course, we learnt about slavery thru' great Freedom fighters like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubman, and even thru' literature texts like Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Of how the blacks were deemed to be inferior to the whites. Of how derogatory terms were used to described them. How they were used by people and trapped in slavery. Is that not what The Maid is now? A modern-day slave. The way some families treat their domestic helper disgusts me, treating them as someone lesser, someone to comply to their demands, someone unworthy. (disclaimer: of coz, I know that not all families are like that. I too know of people who treat their domestic helpers as part of the family...)

Perhaps it'd always be beyond my comprehension why this is so...because we've never had domestic help in our home. My parents never believed in engaging a maid to do the household chores. We learnt to help out whenever we can, be it cooking, sweeping, ironing, etc. But of coz, a mother who took care of the household was, and is a great blessing. No matter how independent a woman of the 21st century may be, I think a mother's primary calling is to fulfill her God-given stewardship of her children, her husband and her home. It must be a great blessing that God has called mothers to fulfill.

Anyway, I digress.

back to yelling children.

Aren't we like that too?

Children yelling our demands to our Father.

I want a luxurious life! I want a happy home! I want more money! I want a soulmate! I want a satisfying job! I want great grades! I want a smooth-sailing journey! I want great colleagues! I want! I want! I want!

We have become demanding, insolent, self-centered.

"I want" reflects a lot on the attitude of our hearts. I want means not Your will, but mine be done. I want means I'm God, You're not. I want means fulfill my desires and then I'd fulfill Yours Lord. I want means I know myself better than You. I want means it's all about me. I want.

Dear Lord, teach me, teach us to see what You want, what You wish of us. What Your heartbeat is. Only when we put ourselves, our self-centeredness down that we will be able to submit to the will of God and He is so amazing that He provides us more than what we want, more than what we would ever wish for.

Yes. Our Lord is THAT amazing. :)