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May 1982. The long-awaited day had arrived, signaling completion, accomplishments, and recognition. The university auditorium buzzed with excitement as parents and graduates took their appropriate seats. The stage was set and the audience quieted as the ceremony began. Commencement speeches conveyed their purpose to motivate, inspire and congratulate  us as they set the tone of the ceremony acknowledging our Hard work and future potential. Finally, it was time for the graduates to participate. One by one, our names were announced, and each graduate, in gown and tassel hat attire, arose, and began the formal walk to the stage.  The presiding dignitary conferred the degree and The diploma was bestowed  with handshakes and tassels turned. Applause rose from the crowd as family and friends indicated their honor and noteworthy recognition of each student. We had succeeded! Completion  and pride filled my heart.

With the celebration over, and accomplishment of an  education degree secured, my search was well underway for a teaching position. I was fortunate to land a job in West-Central  Alberta. The beautiful town of Grande Cache, which overlooks the Smoky River and is located at the northern  edge  of the Rocky Mountains.

My passion and ability for teaching was soon highlighted with compliments from the district superintendent and my principal. Confidence in my chosen profession   escalated, and after two years of teaching, I was presented with my permanent teaching certification.

Next, I received a phone call with a job offer from a school in southern Alberta, which I declined. Then, to my surprise, I received another phone call for a teaching position in the city where my parents and brother lived. I was ecstatic and readily accepted the job. (This story has been condensed, but there are many more details which I share in my memoir, Glass Walls.)

Each day I greeted the morning with enthusiasm and expectation. I’d recently become a Christian, acknowledging my sins before God, realizing that Christ died on the cross in my place. His blood paid the price for my sins. Because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, I would never know the horror of Hell. Although I was growing in my new faith, I pocketed each compliment from my colleagues and quietly patted myself on the back. Teaching was in my blood, a pinnacle of my life!

One day, a fellow teacher spoke of her daily prayer for the Lord to give her strength and wisdom as she instructed the children. Her statement promoted introspection as I pondered my level of self-confidence. Did I need the Lord’s  help to teach? Perhaps, at times, I inquired of the Lord for wisdom to handle a particular situation, but on the whole, my professional career was solid, and I didn’t see the need to ask the Lord for help.

Does this aspect of my teaching career sound prideful? Yes!  Totally! It was my thought that since I had independently discovered and developed this gift, I should receive and relish in all the praises. Thankfully, as a new Christian, the Lord was gracious, extending patience, showing me that my teaching ability was a gift He had given me. Slowly I began to understand that, although I had taken steps to develop my teaching ability, it was not of myself that I  found teaching a classroom of students to be relatively easy, invigorating  and rewarding. No! It was God’s blessing on my life and my pride needed to be dealt with.

Many years have come and gone, and I repeatedly realize that if there are any accomplishments in my life, it’s because of God’s amazing grace! The pride of life  has been replaced with joyous surrender and gratitude.

It’s tempting to take credit for a job well done, or perhaps  the offer to “sit at the head table” but we must always remember that pride goes before a fall. Human nature, which is our sin nature, likes to covet the praises, but this temptation must be put to death.

James 4:6 speaks of God’s grace to the humble  but opposes the proud. Proverbs 6:16, 17, speak of six things  the Lord  hates and are repulsive to Him. The first one listed, in verse 17, is  a proud look,  (the attitude that makes one overestimate himself and discounts others. (amplified Version) Then, there is the momentous and colossal fall of Lucifer! He was cast out of heaven because of the sin of pride. (Isaiah 14:12-15) He desired to be God, not a servant of God.

Have you experienced success in areas of your life? Do you take people’s praises or have you, like me, learned that whatever your  gifts, they are at the hand of the Lord?

I lay my trophies at His feet, giving the King of kings all the praise and glory!  

Prayer: Lord God, I rejoice in reflecting Your  grace, Your light  and Your love with others. Keep pride far from rooting in my heart  in every situation. May we understand the sinful depth of pride  and know that You will not give Your glory to another. Amen.