Pride Comes Before the Fall

April 14, 2019

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

About six months before Tad was diagnosed with ALS I did something pretty careless. I was on my way to a department meeting while carrying five large, three-ring binders and wearing open-toed, slip-on high heels when I fell down the stairs. I couldn’t see my feet to navigate the steps and simply overstepped the last step. My toe hit the ground first, then my knee, then the binders flew out of my hands. I barely got my hands in front of me before my face hit. One student laughed and pointed before walking away (you know who you are, Tyler!), but one wonderful student came to my rescue. She ran to the office to get the nurse who brought a wheelchair.

By the time the nurse got there, my entire foot was black and blue and swollen and my knee and hands were bleeding. I couldn’t put any pressure on my foot. The nurse called Tad who drove me to the emergency room.

Soon after they got me admitted, my friend, Rachel, was there by my side. I don’t even know how she found out I was there, but I was glad to see her. We quickly prayed that nothing was broken and that the healing would be fast. X-rays showed that there was nothing broken, but I had some pretty bad muscle tears in the top of my foot.

Before I even knew what was going on, arrangements had been made to pick the kids up and Rachel’s husband and our friend, Joseph, picked up my car from the school parking lot. We got home and people brought us dinner and a fruit basket and others jumped in to help with transporting the kids to and from school. Things I never would have asked others to do, but I didn’t even have to ask.

Before this day if anyone would have asked, I was an independent woman who didn’t need help from anyone. I would never ask for help because that was a sign of weakness. I never wanted to be a burden to anyone. Come to find out, that was my pride talking.

God never intended for us to live alone. In the very beginning, God said it was not good for the man to be alone; so, He made him a suitable helper (Genesis 2:18). The early church was set up to help everyone live in community with each other. In Galatians 6:2 we are commanded to “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” A shared load is always a lighter load. 

Most of us don’t have a hard time helping others in their time of need, but it is difficult to be the one on the receiving end. The problem I always had was asking because I didn’t want to bother someone. I had to get over that fast if I wanted to survive my respite. Tad was so quick to help that first day, but the next morning I got up and made my way to the couch and just sat there waiting for him to bring me breakfast. I would have starved if I didn’t finally ask him if I could get some food. He laughed and said, “I have to bring you breakfast, too?” I couldn’t do anything for myself for the first four days. I could barely hobble my way to the bathroom. I had to depend on Tad and the kids for everything.  Even when I got back to school, my students had to take care of me. 

This event was an eye-opener to me. I quickly learned what an awesome support system I had in place. I learned to ask for the things I needed (most of the time), and I learned to accept that when someone else does something, it may not be how I would have done it. I also learned that I can’t control everything—or anything for that matter—I can only control my reaction to it. It’s a good thing I learned all of this because I soon came to depend on that support system after Tad was diagnosed. Nothing ever is in my control, and thank goodness, because I don’t want God’s job.

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 41:10 because it reminds us to let go of fear (which, in essence, is what happens when we feel uncomfortable because we can’t control a situation or see the desired outcome) and place our trust in God. It states, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”