Humility: My Greatest Thrift Find

Ever make a plan and have it fail? And, again? And, again?

When I needed an internship for this summer, I was dead set on working for a Christian ministry. Well, God had something different in mind. I applied to every place I could think of, but was turned down each time. It was pretty disheartening.

Since ministry was obviously out of the question, I decided I would serve at a nonprofit. When I got accepted at Hospitality House, I was ready to take it head on and do amazing things. You can believe I was pretty surprised when they stuck me in their Thriftique for most of the summer. I wanted to tell people about God. Instead, I told people about our prices. I wanted to serve others. Instead, I served people a hot sales pitch on our furniture selection. It was pretty disheartening.

A month after starting, as I was grieving about how all my plans had been shattered, I went to Hospitality House for a meeting with my supervisor. And, I learned something that day.

When I got into the meeting, I was met with nothing but praise for the work the other interns and I were doing at the Thriftique, and how much our work was helping everyone on-site at Hospitality House. It was great. I walked out of that meeting with some pep in my step and a very glad heart.

They say humility is a virtue. For a Christian, humility is a discipline that should be practiced and experienced every day. God could have used me in ministry. I don't doubt that. He could have used me on site at Hospitality House all summer. But, He didn’t. He used me at the Thriftique. I was being too closed-minded. I was blind. But that day, my eyes were opened.

I challenge everyone reading this to consider what you have, what you do, and where you work. You’re there for a reason. Rejoice. Everything you do may not make an outstanding impact, but it is making one. Serve everyone you meet in love. And, know this, “that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot” (Ecclesiastes 3:22). This is God’s gift to man.