Taking Pride

October 1 2018

As I was driving to work the other day, I noticed this lady picking up paper in her yard. She had the corner lot and it was probably the place where people dumped their “fast food” trash. This lady looked to be in her early fifties and was neatly dressed. I assumed that she was single, but I could be wrong. What I noticed as she tiptoed through her dew wet lawn was how she scanned the yard for any debris she could find. She was on a mission. As I passed by, I got a good view of her back yard and noticed how well manicured and maintained the property looked. The other houses were not kept to the same degree as this one.

I immediately thought about how much pride this lady seemed to have in her rather small house. Many times, we think we need the biggest and the best to have pride in our “stuff”. However, we should take pride in whatever God has given to us. Not only should we take pride, but we should give thanks. Taking pride does not mean that we brag about what we have, but it means showing gratitude in the way we care for what we have. This lady obviously felt a sense of pride and you could tell just by the way her property stood out from the other houses around her. She set the bar for what the other homeowners should be striving for.

Seeing this lady reminded me of my parents. They had a rather small house. I believe it was about 1,800 square feet. All five of the off springs were raised in that house with only one bathroom. I can’t remember a time that we fought over the right to get access and that was with two girls in the household. My parents took a great deal of pride in that little house. My dad made sure the grass was mowed every single week, the shrubs were trimmed, and flowers were planted. My parents worked as a team to beautify that small yard. They even decided to add a patio and later bricked the entire house. It became the talk of the community. They weren’t looking for bragging rights. They were just taking what God had given them and making it comfortable for their use. They were perfectly satisfied and filled with pride.

I don’t know where you are in life, but whatever God has blessed you with, take pride in it and be thankful. Demonstrate to God that you can be faithful with the little things. Don’t wait for the “big blessing” but show God now how grateful you are for what you have and be content.