Exalted - Reposted

I originally posted this back in 2015, but it popped up today in one of my memories and I felt a spiritual nudge to share it again. With a newly published book, I'm already thinking is not as good as it should be (I went from thinking it is the best I've ever written, to who wrote this mess?) I also have a new, almost finished painting I think is my best. It is, but I think God is telling me to be careful and not become too exalted. 

Original post from October 2015

Original Art by Cecilia Marie Pulliam

Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

When I first began art lessons, my dad encouraged me and gave me a challenge with each painting. “That’s good, Sisser, but not as good as Jackson.”

Jackson was a regional artist whose large painting hung in our living room. For years I worked hard to be as good an artist as Jackson. Then one day, I gave my dad a painting of one of his favorite subjects: a ponderosa pine, an old cabin, and mountains draped in snow.

My dad said, “It’s just as good as Jackson’s.”

I was thrilled.

Then he added, “But not as good as Charles Russell.”

He was right. I was better than some, but not as good as others.

It’s the same for life in general. I am not the least, nor the greatest, but somewhere in between. I prefer sitting in a back corner rather than at the head of the table, if possible. I am not exclusively an introvert, but rather a mix with some traits of both the introvert and the extrovert. I can talk up a storm in a one-on-one conversation but clam up in large groups.

I don’t want, or seek the limelight, but I don’t want to be ignored either. In other words, I am part of the general populace, neither all good nor all bad, neither extremely talented nor without talent, neither exalted nor cast out.

According to Luke, that’s a good place to be.

I’ll be happy for a backseat in heaven but would be ecstatic if God nodded in my direction and said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” 

To that end, I must continue to live and work, without making comparisons, without declaring my unworthiness, without calling out my goodness. I’ll leave that up to God. I just want to get through that gate.  

Lessons from My Cats, Guest Post by Linda Yezak

Cuddlebug is mad at me. Because of a thyroid condition, she has to eat special food—but she doesn’t know that. She just knows that PB gets to eat in the living room from a fancy earthenware bowl that gets whipped off the floor whenever Bug comes near. And it’s not fair that PB gets to have special stuff that she’s not allowed to even sniff.

What my 19-year-old tortoise shell cat doesn’t know—aside from the fact that she has a condition—is that I pay extra for her food and can only get it from the vet. She doesn’t know that I take time to make a gravy out of that expensive food to make it more palatable for her. She doesn’t know that I also slice venison into bite-sized pieces especially for her, to take care of her coat and give her a special treat. I don’t do this for PB, who is a persnickety eater anyway. Just for Cuddlebug.

All I do for PB is pour dry cereal into a bowl and feed her in a different room so Bug won’t eat it and get sick again. Funny thing is, PB thinks she’s the one getting the special treatment—except she does seem to wonder why she’s been banned to the living room to eat. She wants to eat in the kitchen like the big cat.

Apples, Oranges, and Lemons: the Stuff of Nightmares

Night terrors. They come at bedtime, in the middle of the night, and sometimes early in the morning, terrifying images robbing me of sleep, and peace of mind. Some are so frightening they force me out of bed.

Several tricks help to eradicate these scenes: Solitaire, a book, and a few simple computer games. These, however, are only momentary distractions. It is Scripture that usually exterminates them — for a while.

After a particularly rough night of self-accusation, I rose, went into my study, and opened that day’s devotions. In Living Faith, Fr. Martin Pable, O.F.M. talked about humility. Alcoholics Anonymous gives their members this definition: “Humility means not to make comparisons.”