This week's question, along with some of her thoughts, is from Betsy:
Last weekend I had a Turkish moment. Just after my 10th breakfast guest arrived, repairmen cut the water supply to our building! It was a surprise, so I didn’t have a chance to fill up any buckets or bottles beforehand. The water came back on at 8:30 pm, and on Monday it was cut again. In fact over the last 6 weeks, I’ve cooked a few meals without water, gone a few days without doing laundry, and had one 3-day showerless adventure.
I confess my patience is wearing a bit thin, and I’m thinking, “I’m too old for this.”
Looking on the bright side, inconveniences like water cuts on the field do keep us flexible, and God can use them to teach us the hard lessons of patience and contentment. Undoubtedly they’re part of His design to mold us into the image of His son, but knowing this doesn’t make it any easier!
Are water or electricity cuts part of your life on the field? What other inconveniences threaten to undo you?
Yes! At this very moment--and all of the past week--it's been internet. I can get a connection, if I try over and over, but it breaks off after a short time. Grr. But, I can see good sides to that.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we've lived in places where the hot water has been intermittent, others where it was the water itself, and, here it's mostly been the electricity. In the middle of winter my husband was gone for a week, it was really cold, and the electricity was off almost every day. Towards the end of the week, I just wanted to scream. What really got to me was fixing dinner every night in the dark. (Why that? I don't know.)
But, yes, it like a spiritual discipline. :-) It's really, really good for me. Every time it brings me to a place of thanking for the little things (and big ones!), and also remembering and praying for people who have nothing. It also reminds me to pray for the many friends I have in jungle situations.
Decidedly a part of life in Nicaragua. During the dry season it seems to be normal to lose water 4 out of 7 mornings a week with once-a-monthish loss for a really extended period of time. Power goes out less and usually comes back in 20 minutes, but it has gone out all day twice in the past 5 months... So I'm kinda prepared when the water goes out - I have water for dishes and maybe sponge baths if it's less than a day. And power isn't that inconvenient in the tropics -- we miss the fans but nobody's going to freeze to death down here! What bothers me about it is just that I like to be comfortable... but I'm pretty sure that Jesus said "blessed are the poor" and "woe to those who are rich and comfortable now" in the Beatitudes so I'm applying that to my situation just now to mean that well, he didn't put me on this world to be comfortable!! He put me here to be of some use! Easy to say when you're on a week long missions trip, much harder to say when this is 'normal' for the foreseeable future... but I'm praying for God's grace and my maturity to grow!! It helps to have 3 small people around who are watching and I want to set a good example. They just want Mommy to be happy and read them a book. They don't care if they're dirty and sweaty and there's no water. So why do I have to cry about it? I don't. Smile, read the book, move on, and surprise, I'm not feeling so whiny anymore anyway! And oh man, is this a good concrete opportunity to teach them and myself about prayer. It's not a vending machine for quick fixes, but it is definitely the place to go when we're beyond ourselves.
ReplyDelete-Melissa
About the little ones watching: yes! And they're also an encouragement to me. When it seems to me like the inconveniences have been going on for a long time, they're still saying, "Ooo! We get to have candles again tonight!" or "Yay! We get to go to the water truck!" :-)
Deletewe had power cuts, water cuts, internet isues, no butter in town, etc., or something like that almost every single day living in w. africa. what amazes me is how easy it was to just roll with those punches, most of the time, while living there. and here, in the west, the internet blips out for a few minutes and i'm frustrated. the power goes out for several hours after a severe storm and i have no patience. i expected it in niger. i expect something very different here and it colors my perspective, that's for sure.
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