Rise Above Yourself

Today I am linking up with Jill Savage and Hearts at Home for Third Thursday Thoughts. This month's theme: Unleash Your Power to Rise Above. 

Oh this is so fitting for our current state. Earlier this week we made it known that we are selling our big house (2,500 square feet) and building a tiny house (200ish square feet). The response on our Facebook page was overwhelmingly positive. The amount of text messages, emails, comments and questions was also overwhelming. I expected to have A LOT of opportunities to rise above, but there were almost no negative comments. (People might be posting positive comments and then telling their spouse how crazy we are...don't worry, that thought crosses my mind about once a day too.) 

When I saw the theme for this month my first reaction was, "I am the last person who should be writing about rising above." I somehow had the idea that rising above was synonymous with thinking highly of myself...that rising above meant giving myself a boost of self esteem. With all the positive feedback we'd been receiving on this tiny house decision, I was starting to think of myself as some sort of modern day hero and didn't think there was much of anything I needed rise above. 

Then we started getting rid of our stuff. I was confronted with a side of myself that is just downright ugly: My judgmental attitude toward the poor and homeless. I watched a ton of our stuff go out the door and get loaded into a woman's van who was going to have a place to live for the first time in three years and all I could think of was the future of my stuff. 

Rising above did not mean a boost of self esteem, it meant a very real humbling of myself. This week, I'm not rising above anything negative, I am rising above my own self righteousness. This downsizing journey is clearly not about how awesome I am. It is about God showing me some very real issues buried in my heart. He is pretty clear on whether or not we should care for the homeless and give to the poor...and He doesn't say we get to know the future of those gifts. He just says we are to give. 

This is about obedience.

There are plenty of days when I need God to help me rise above the sleep deprivation, balancing act of work and home, and schedules that never seem to line up. Today God is helping me rise above my selfishness and attitude of entitlement. He is helping me rise above my love of stuff and my excessive lifestyle. He is shaping an obedient heart. 

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Romans 12:2