Lesson in Humility

I moved into the youth pastor’s house in February … one of the perks of filling in while he’s on furlough. One evening, shortly after I moved in, I decided that I needed to relax and wind down a bit more before going to bed.  I decided to enjoy a nice warm bath and episode of Gilmore Girls. It was luxurious and relaxing.  All ready to crawl into my comfy bed in cool room for a restful sleep, I was stopped by a menacing opponent … the bathroom door.

When I had shut the bathroom door to take my shower the lock jammed.  The door opens inward and locks from the inside and the doorknob would turn, but the locking mechanism wouldn’t budge. 

Now a couple months ago the youth pastor shared how he got stuck in his kids’ room one night and was finally able to break out using random stuff his son gave him.  I started searching the bathroom … was there something I could use to move the locking mechanism?  Was there something I could use to remove the hinges? Maybe, but no matter what I tried I couldn’t get out.  There’s a decent-sized window above the bathtub that I tried to see if I could climb out, but with being on the second floor, it didn’t seem like an option.  I could slip my fingers under the door and pull it towards me, but I didn’t have enough leverage (or strength) to break the door or lock.

I was stuck.

Extra towels were kept in this bathroom, so I knew I would be able to make a ‘bed’ for myself.   A light was still on and the light switch on the outside – that was troublesome until I was able to rig a washcloth over it.  But the maebaan (housekeeper) wasn’t due to come in the following morning.  I didn’t have my phone; I did have my computer – but no charger.  It was a little after midnight by this point so I did the only thing I could … I emailed a few people who might be able to help and settled in for the night.

I slept surprisingly well, for the most part, and sure enough around 8am one of the friends I emailed called out to me … all the doors were locked.  I had been told that it’s possible to break in through one of the living room windows, but haven’t had to and my friend could figure it out.  Thankfully one of the kitchen windows was unlocked, so that’s how my friend got into the house.  There wasn’t much that could be done from the outside, other than slam the door open.  I was surprised … there was no damage done to the door as the lock shattered.

Shattered lock

In reassuring the others I contacted that I was safely out, I was surprised by their stories of getting stuck in rooms due to faulty doorknobs.  In fact, my supervisor was surprised to hear that this hadn’t happened to me yet.  Apparently it’s one of those rites of passage of living here.

This whole experience ending up being a good story for the middle school discipleship class I’ve been leading.

I’ve been taking them through Richard Foster’s Celebration of Disciplines and that week we were discussing the spiritual discipline of service.  In his book, Foster lists 7 different types of service – one of which is the service of being served.

I told the students that of all the different types, this one is the hardest for me because I am a strong, independent woman who prefers serving others than being served.  It’s sometimes hard for me to ask for help and in some cases I’d rather figure out a way to do it on my own or do without.

I shared the story of getting stuck in the bathroom.  Part of me was so embarrassed to ask for help because who gets stuck in a bathroom like that?!? (Apparently more than I realized) At the same time I realized that once I knew I was getting out on my own that I would have to humble myself to ask someone to come out and break me out.  I slept well because I trusted that someone would eventually come – I didn’t panic or worry about how long I’d be stuck.  I knew that once I asked, one of my friends would be there as soon as possible.

Don’t you just love how God will knock you down, just to remind you that you can never be the strong independent woman you want to be or to remind you that it is a service to submit yourself so someone can serve (and bless) you?