Humility, A Haiku

Broken on the floor

Tulips at her feet tonight

Glue it together again

_____

It is always interesting to to try a new way to express a written thought. Haiku's seem to hold a mystery about them. It expresses one single word or idea through 3 lines of poetry. So simple yet so provoking.

I was given the word humility and asked to express the meaning in the form of a Haiku. It is easy to get trapped into a frightening pressure at the thought of only having a few lines to creatively sum the whole of the word.

The word humility evokes a picture of brokenness. To be truly humble I have to be broken before God...at the end of myself. There comes a point, sometimes several points, in life where we come to the end of our strength and are stripped of everything we rely on. This happens solely for the purpose of humility and recognizing that God is almighty and powerful....not me. However, I believe I am given a choice to set my ego aside and give all glory to God, OR God will humiliate to remind it is His glory not mine.

The scripture provides key examples of what happens when you will and will not humble yourself:

Exodus 10:3-4 (NIV)

3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 4 If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.

2 Kings 22:19 (NIV)

19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.

I think the decision is clear....I will exchange my ego and pride for a life heard by God.

All too often, I refuse to listen to God because I am afraid of losing my 'beautiful' things...my career, my relationships, my talents...my, my, my. I have plans for my career, I have plans for my future spouse, I have plans for my talents...I,I,I.

It's not a fear of losing them and not knowing where they went. It's a fear of being asked to drop them completely. The fear comes from believing they will not be replaced. It's an issue of not trusting God to bring to me all the great things he promised. In that fear, it is easy to take the first beautiful thing that comes along when my natural circumstance does not lend to belief in the promises God gave me. I am not the first to fall into this trap. The trap of "it will never happen" and impatience.

The Bible says Abraham hoped against all hoped, even when his body was as good as dead, because he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised to do. It was Abraham's faith in God's power that allowed him to be the father of many nations. (Romans 13-24, NIV)

I exchange my beautiful things for a faith that is fully persuaded by God's power.

Friends, God intends for you and me to live an extraordinary life filled with supernatural miracles, blessings and intimacy with Him. If only we would let go of our mediocre attempt to bring beauty to our own lives, and ask God to give us His beautiful things.

I exchange mine, mine, mine for Yours, Yours, Yours.