A Slice of Humble Pie

In Dan 4:37 we read, “And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. “(NIV)I just hate it when I have to eat some more humble pie! It’s not really that I think so highly of myself, but occasionally I do get my priorities out of order, such as worrying too much about what others think. The word humility means to be humble. In Webster’s Dictionary it defines humility as the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc. Well, it just so happened that Easter Sunday morning, we had gone to visit my Mom and Dad. We all were up early to dress and arrive at church in plenty of time to get enough seats so the family could sit together. At the last minute I had to hem one of my nephew’s new slacks, so I was a little thrown off and stressed to get myself ready. As I put the final crease in his pants, I handed them off and shooed the boys out of the room so I could get dressed myself. I put on my hosiery, skirt and blouse, then went to my suitcase to get out my dress shoes. Much to my disbelief my black dress shoes were NOT in my suitcase! I thought to myself, “Maybe I already took them out.” I didn’t think I really did, but was hoping I had. I checked under the bed, then in the living room where I had slept the first night. Again, no dress shoes. I was almost in a panic by this time because you see, it’s not like I can borrow anyone else’s shoes as I wear a size 2. Yes, you read that right, a size 2. I finally dumped everything out of my suitcase onto the floor just to make sure and absolutely there were no dress shoes. I quickly replayed the day before when I was packing my suitcase and remembered taking out my two pairs of dress shoes. I have one pair of navy and one pair of black and always have a hard time telling them apart. I brought both pairs out of the closet and placed them side-by-side on the chest and chose the black pair. I guess in my haste I put both pairs back in the closet. So now, back to Easter Sunday. What was I going to do??? There were no stores open and no one to borrow from. My only options were to stay home or wear the black orthopedic shoes I used to wear when I taught school. I really did not want to wear those ugly black shoes. They are fine with jeans or slacks, but not with my Easter dress! Then I quietly heard the Holy Spirit say, “Why are you going to church today? To show off your clothes or worship the Risen Lord?” I immediately felt convicted. So I decided to forgo fashion and wear my ugly, black, orthopedic shoes with a smile. And guess what? It wasn’t the end of the world and of course no one said a word about it (at least to my face). The service was great, the choral performance was moving and I was very blessed and in the end it didn’t matter what I was wearing. I was again reminded of what an awesome God we serve and He didn’t really care if my shoes matched my outfit or not. “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Col 3:12 (NIV) Thanks for another lesson in humility.