Spot the Rot
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2
Recently I have been overwhelmed with anxiety and stress about two traffic citations that I receive in February 2025. They had to do with a crossing guard at the middle school. Until that day, I had never had any tickets, accidents, or problems with legal status. I was undone! (Remember, I drive a school van for special needs children.)
Sleepless nights, what ifs, and being fearful to even drive my own car filled my senses to overload. Of course, I prayed and prayed and then went right back to feeling worried, ashamed, and punished for a rule that I did not know even existed.
Friday (5/9/25) I was to go to court with my attorney. This was the devotion for the day:
Don’t be so hard on yourself. I can bring good even out of your mistakes. Your finite mind tends to look backward, longing to undo decisions you have come to regret. This is a waste of time and energy, leading only to frustration. Instead of floundering in the past, release your mistakes to Me. Look to Me in trust, anticipating that My infinite creativity can weave both good choices and bad into a lovely design.
Because you are human, you will continue to make mistakes. Thinking that you should live an error-free life is symptomatic of pride. Your failures can be a source of blessing, humbling you and giving you empathy for other people in their weaknesses. Best of all, failure highlights your dependence on Me. I am able to bring beauty out of the morass of your mistakes. Trust Me and watch to see what I will do.
*****
After reading this and meditating on the Scripture, I was able to spot my rot. I was being very prideful and trying to get this fixed in human ways. When I finally was able to say, “I will accept the outcome of this situation regardless of what happens to me,” the weight of the world was lifted from me. My head cleared. My heart was lighter. I found peace. I was truly humbled.
Put me in a classroom and I am good, but a courtroom—oh dear! I froze until I heard the word, “Peace!” The charges with two points each were dropped and I plead guilty to a lesser charge with nothing on my record. What joy filled my entire being and I today give God all the glory!
Loving and Gracious God, thank You for helping me to spot the rot in my life. We can see it in others, but it is difficult to see in our own life. Teach us to be more aware. AMEN.