The Thing About Pride

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."  Proverbs 11:2
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When Andrew got called to be the Pastor at West Eaton Baptist Church, we dove into a home search head on and full force. We knew what we needed for our family, what our personal desires for a home were, we also needed it to be close enough to the church, but close to family as well. We gave our realtor pretty specific instructions, and together, we said "no" to quite a few houses before finding this one. 

When we first learned this house was on the market, I made Andrew drive me over & all the way up to the front door, where I got out and did my own inspection. We were so excited by what we saw: the potential, the history, the style, the charm. I fell in love right away, and just knew it would be ours. I kept saying: "Just picture it at Christmas!" with it's tall staircase in the foyer, fireplace mantel and pillared porch. I saw the beauty that our home would be, and that was all it took. 

 We spent the first few weeks after purchasing, checking off a very long to-do list, before we were finally able to move the family in. The work was mostly cosmetic, and came together pretty quickly. We are 95% done with the inside, but still have so many "big" projects to do outside: Redo the porch, paint the house, add rails to the front steps, landscape...the list goes on and on. 

Now that we're in the home, however, and we find ourselves in the dead of winter, we are realizing that we did things a little backwards. I was so consumed with finishing the inside, making everything look pretty, that I forgot what living in an 1800's home in the winter would mean. I forgot about attic blankets, and insulating the basement, storm windows, and sealing up cracks that appear out of nowhere when the wind starts whipping. That was poor planning on our part, it was our own fault. It was my fault for being so prideful in the appearance of our home, instead of in it's function for our family. I admit that I pushed Andrew to make things look "just so", telling myself that beauty was the important thing. 

We are learning the hard way that allowing pride to be your driving force, will ultimately be your downfall.
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We all have things in our life that we hold onto, things that we are proud of. And sometimes those things can be ok, but are you allowing pride to blind you today? Is there a situation in your own life, like mine, that you wish you could go back and redo?  Are you so consumed with selfish things, that you are unable to see the bigger picture?

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God, help us today, to turn from our prideful attitudes, and see our lives through eyes of wisdom and discernment. Forgive us for the "things" in life we've been holding onto, and help us to lay them at Your feet, knowing that You will always take care of us. Thank You for Your forgiveness, patience, and grace, You are such a good God.