After giving my previous potholders away, I finally made a set for myself in my favorite colors, blue and brown. The area I've struggled with most as I finish them is pride. Recent changes to a very important part of my life have thrown me into a war against self that has been quietly turbulent. Though I can stuff down the symptoms of pride - selfishness, bitterness, and the inability to accept instruction - I can't deny that the emotions are there. Yet when I try to ignore them, I feel like a doormat, that is, until I come back to Scripture that says to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3). How easy that sounds and how hard it is to actually practice it when faced with real circumstances! The justification I make for my feelings crumbles when I am faced by the example of Christ, who "did not come to be served, but to serve," (Mark 10:45) who "made himself nothing," and who "humbled himself and became obedient to death" (Philippians 2:7-8). I'm convicted by the humiliation Jesus accepted and I'm comforted to know that my Savior has been in this place too.
Pattern Credit: Gehaekelte Topflappen by Creadoo.Available at ravelry.com.
