Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Humble Pie

Humility. Jesus lived it. Christians strive for it. Most fail at it.

This weekend was the lesson of humility for me. Huge error occurred. I have a great list of excuses, as I am queen of giving them.
"Too much going on this weekend."
"Juggling too many balls."
"My husband was gone for 2 days so he couldn't help."
etc.

But, bottom line....I messed up.
I put the wrong date on the invitation.
I did not double check.
Can anyone relate?

Deep sigh....and rewind to the beginning of Saturday when the lesson of humility began.

CPR class in the morning. All was good. Saved "Annie". Certification renewed.

Afternoon was spent baking a cake.
Matthea's Circus birthday party was going to be awesome with all her old classmates from last year. I was riding on the success and fun from last years party without a care in the world, except that a Boy Scout ceremony loomed in the late afternoon. So, not much time to do all the final touches.

3pm, the phone rings and guess what....guests for the party have arrived at the school. Frantic, Uwe and I looked at the invitation and sure enough....the date was the 12th, NOT the 13th.
What to do? What to do?
Boy Scouts starts in a an hour.
Cake is NOT iced.
No party favors.
Not Ready! No way to wing it, nothing to do but to suck up the pride and apologize.

Uwe bikes over there and talks with them. Apologizes profusely. We both feel like idiots at this point!
They CAN come back tomorrow. (whew!) But, they want to play with Matthea for awhile.
No problem, that can be done.
Uwe races back home.
I pack a mini bag with things needed for the Scout meeting (clothes for me, clothes for Matthea, diapers, etc.)
I race over with Matthea and see everyone.
Aplogies made over and over again as Matthea plays with her friends. I'm feeling a bit better, but at this point I've accepted the "idiot tag" I've put on and be grateful for their graciousness.

Half hour later, Uwe shows up with the other two kids and we take off for the Scout ceremony. I dress Matthea in the taxi. I dress at the place where the ceremony was held (wasn't THAT desperate!). Get the Scouts ready and sit down. 2 hours later leave the ceremony.
Kids fed.
Kids in bed.
Tears finally come....

Humility, being humbled sure doesn't feel good. But, I also learned that it isn't beating yourself up. It's accepting grace. Am I a humble person now? Probably not to the fullest. I am a continuing project for the Lord to work on. Praise Him that He won't give up.

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How did the party turn out on Sunday? It was wonderful and loads of fun. But, if you want to know more details, you'll have to wait until the next posting...as I've run outta time and probably space.

4 comments:

lindiepindie said...

I've been an idiot too! Many times over. And it's been the graciousness of others that has encouraged me to be gracious when others make mistakes. I'm so sorry this happened to you. We've all been there.

Teecy said...

ah, great story...didn't know whether to laugh or cry!

"Story telling at its finest. MaDonna Maurer reels you right in as she weaves humor and authenticity together in every post."
hails Blog Post Today

(can you believe this quote I found about you?? so cool)

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

What a story, MaDonna! You handled it very, very well. Good job!

Come visit us the next time you're in the States and enjoy my view. I got it after eight years of looking at a gigantic, lighted trophy turning on the KTV center across from our kitchen window in Tianjin. Now that was a view! Your view in heaven will be better than mine, though, since I'm getting mine now. ;)

MaDonna Maurer said...

Thanks guys!
Teecy, love your quote!