Bruised toes and thankful for them

I was going to write a little post on five things I love about winter and I probably will still do that another day, but considering the bulk of Illinois is under a winter advisory that will include freezing rain, I just can’t take a chance of having some of you navigate awful driving conditions and then read about my favorite parts of the season when you finally get to your desk.

I took the trek up north last evening to beat the storm and be here for the 7 AM bell so Rachel and Zach can get to work on time.

We are unsure if there will be school or a delayed start…living on the edge of our seats, we are.

On the way up here I listened to a sermon and it was a good one.

Painful but good.

He talked about pride and how tricky it is to pin down in others and nearly impossible to notice in ourselves.

That’s the nature of it.

As he went through the character traits, I had to admit I could nod my head to so many.

Including indecisiveness.

He pointed out that often our lack of commitment to making a decision is because by doing so, we risk being considered wrong by one or more people and this sense of being not liked at best or unloved at worst is actually just a sly form of pride.

Well, ouch.

Another one that got me was how pride can be the showy kind – where we think we are better than others….or the subtle kind where we are constantly seeing how we don’t measure up…and yet both are pride because both are total focus on self.

Some other things he pointed out are that pride can make us antagonistic toward others when they correct us…or we can crumble under criticism to the point that we dissolve.

Both of these approaches leave no room for the correction God might be trying to make in paths that have veered off track.

He talked about how tempting our culture is as we have easy access to ways we can promote ourselves…or compare ourselves unfavorably to others who seem to be setting the world ablaze with all their wonderfulness…but in reality…the problem is inside our hearts.

Because all of the self-promotion and self-condemnation is fruit of self-centered living.

And that is a beast that will never be satisfied even after it has consumed every ounce of your soul.

This last one really got me…how sneaky our buried pride can be.

He was talking about how we can start out with righteous anger over something. But as we hold on to it and get more indignant the underlying source of our passion can actually be a pride that has led us to believe we would never ever do what that one has done.

It makes me think about some of my tirades that seemed fueled by my desire for justice and I can definitely relate to the pride all my posturing tried to cover up.

As the podcast ended and I turned off all noise and distractions in the car for the last few miles of the drive, I heard a God whisper…that verse that has consistently shown up throughout the first few weeks of 2019…so much that I am starting to get it memorized down deep…

And do not be conformed any longer to this world…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

We are set apart…called to be different…in the world but not of the world.

It is a daily battle.

A daily laying down “me” and taking up the Cross that saved me from myself.

From one work in progress to another, let’s keep our hearts open and invite Him to continue shaping us more and more into the image of His Son.

Safe travels if you are out and about and I will see you tomorrow <3

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