Thanks for the Thorns

Paul the apostle talked about having a thorn in his flesh which keep him humble. He needed it because without it he would have by his own admission become proud.

I hope most of you don't need one. I don't want one but I actually have a couple. These aren't recurring sins or anything like that, but they are things which I can't control and God isn't taking away. I hate them. They can be completely debilitating, taking me from confidence to broken in minutes. 

The thing is I am a person who has a good level of self-confidence, but it could turn into pride. I could become the person who says I did it so can you, I don't care what you face. Yet the memories of brokenness and weakness remind me that things though simple to discuss are often rarely easy live. Habits, weakness in body and mind, influences around us, unseen circumstances, and the like make change and confidence difficult.

My thorns remind me of this. I keep telling God, I'm better now. I won't forget and maybe someday I will stay humble and understand the shoes others are walking in, but until then, I will at times deal with the thorns. Perhaps I can, in the meantime, be grateful for the thorns. At least, when I'm not pulling them out of my flesh.

Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash