Have you ever seen boldness and humility work together to make a pleasing outcome from sticky situation?

This week the “garbage people” (one of them was a woman) didn’t take our garbage because we had all kinds of stuff piled up from our flooded basement. I went out to the alley and saw the garbage men down a ways and gestured to them like “why didn’t you take our garbage.” They of course gestured back with shrugged shoulders (at least it wasn’t a worse gesture!).

So out comes my wife who proceeds to walk all the way down to the garbage people, and humbly ask them to come back and pick up our smelly junk. They said they didn’t do it because it was more than the regulations allowed them to take. But Tammy boldly explained that the “junk” included our neighbors stuff as well.

A little while later they came back and picked up our garbage. When they did, Tammy went out and thanked them profusely…not only for what they were doing now, but for what they do all the time (see my last post: “A Dirty, Thankful Job”).

A little bold humility goes a long way. St. Paul boldly proclaimed the Gospel even in the humility of prison and personal problems. Jesus Himself was humbly bold when He dealt with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Money Changers. Psalm 138 reminds us that when we call upon the Lord in humble boldness and He will answer us. He may not change the situation…but He will change us!  That’s what God’s forgiveness works and does. “On the day I called, you answered me” (Psalm 138:3).

Bold humility. It’s an interesting concept, don’t you think?

What examples of bold humility can YOU share with ME?