"Puffed" Up

 

 



Do you ever start to get "puffed up" in your faith, and then God brings you back down a couple notches?  Yeah, that happened to me today.  This week we are having a Christmas party at church.  Our church gave us some really nice invitations to hand out to people in our community, and they come with a New Testament Bible.  Yesterday I decided to invite a couple of my neighbors.  I gave one of the invitations to a neighbor who was out running past my house.  We used to walk together at the beginning of fall, but then our schedules changed.  The other invitation I gave to a next door neighbor.  I was returning some Tupperware, so I brought an invitation packet with me.  They weren't home, so I left it on their door.  I'm not gonna lie, I was proud of myself for inviting people to church.  I was thinking that God must be pretty proud of me too. 

This evening, my puffy self asked my husband if he had invited the people from his work.  He said, "No, I wasn't sure what time the party is, so I couldn't fill out the invitation.  I was going to check and then give it to them tomorrow." 

"All of the information is already on the invitation, right?" I answered.

"No, it's an invitation.  You have to fill it out." He said.

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Fill it out?  I quickly opened one of the invitations.

Seriously? 

Poop.

I probably look like one of those people who goes door to door just handing stuff out....except I don't even know what I'm handing out, apparently!  The pizza guy who leaves Dominos coupons on our doorstep has more meaningful handouts than this.

Needless to say, I got de-puffed tonight.  I texted my (walking partner) neighbor and apologized and let her know what the invitation should say.  Then August and I walked next door with a new invitation for the next door neighbors.  They are an older couple.  The wife was not home; she is out of town helping their daughter who had just had surgery.  The husband was gracious with my mix up, and he told me that he would come. 

Why do I always have to learn lessons the hard way?  I always have to end up looking stupid.  Humility.  God always gives me a good dose of it, but I am thankful that He does.  How silly for someone like me to get puffed up.   I have done nothing.  God sent His Son.  His only Son to die for me.  Jesus suffered, bled, died.....for me?  How foolish of me to get a skip in my step when I invite someone to church.  Really Amanda?  How prideful.  I am nothing. The only thing I have to boast in is Christ.  He is everything, and He has given me life.  How silly of me to take pride in my "good works."  I am focusing on the verse below.  Adam mentioned it when he was writing in one of the prayer journals for our middle schoolers (you can read about that in my last post). 

"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30

 

God must have known that I would need this verse later in the week.  Ugh, I can't wait to get rid of this flesh.  Hopefully next time, this verse will pop into my head, and I won't need a lesson in humility.