A Lesson On Humility

            Don't you love the way God seems to always keep you humble?  You're going along just fine, looking good, coming across okay, got your act together, and then - bam! - God knocks the props out from under you, and you fall flat-on-your-face.  It happened to me just the other week...

            I was getting ready to go speak at a prestigious conference; it was one of those executive exclusive kinds of things, and I knew there would be a lot of trustees from various foundations and presidents of colleges.  I had worked so hard on my message - tried to get things just right - I not only went out and bought myself a new outfit to wear, but I asked my girlfriend to clean and polish my wheelchair.  I wanted this presentation to be perfect.

            Well, three days before I was to leave for the conference, something occurred that has never happened before.  I was wheeling outside and began to feel a thump-thump-thump-thump.  I looked down over my shoulder and much to my horror, the tire on my wheelchair had split apart - all the foam that was inside was beginning to bulge and spill out, like I had a big growth on the side of my tire.  It looked absolutely awful - plus, I knew if I didn't do something fast, I'd be riding on the rims of my wheels real soon. 

            When I showed the problem to my husband Ken, he immediately got his big roll of silver duct tape.  I looked at him in disbelief.  "Duct tape?  You're going to fix this with tape?"  Ken explained that until we could get a new tire, it was our only option.  So he proceeded to tightly wrap my tire in layer-after-layer of this ugly, gray duct tape, round and round my wheel it went until the bulge was contained.  "Okay," Ken said, "Try wheeling on it."  Well, I slowly powered my wheelchair forward.  It was still going thump-thump-thump-thump, but at least this time the rim was safe.  Thing is, it looked awful.  Absolutely, positively awful.  "Tacky" was the best word for it.  When my girlfriend saw it, she said, "Well, Joni, think of it as tire jewelry." 

            I have to confess that my first thought was, "Oh, no.  I can't believe I've got to go to this exclusive conference looking like this, like I've got a tumor on my tire!"  But no sooner did that thought cross my mind when I realized that this was simply God's way of keeping me humble.  Maybe for other people He allows a coffee stain on the shirt... spinach between your front teeth... or dandruff all over your black sweater.  For me, it was a flat tire on my wheelchair.  It's so amazing how a silly thing like that can reveal how self-focused, self-absorbed, and self-consumed you really are.  But the Lord was very gracious me.  Ken was able to make a couple of quick phone calls and I got a new tire before heading off to the conference.  Was I relieved!  But once there, I was ever so mindful of Deuteronomy 8:16-17, "He ... [humbled and tested] you so that in the end it might go well with you."  Yep, it did go well with me at that conference... and an extra dose of humility sure did help! 

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