**Due to internet complications, I could not post pictures with this blog. Sorry!**
*Also, be sure to check out www.bekahbyxbe.com for more info on more journey!*
My sister-in-law wrote a really good blog (that you can
check out here if you’d like) a few days ago which made me think; she said
that many times we have a tendency to write about the great things the Lord is
doing, but simply struggle through the tough times on our own. Who wants to
read a blog about how much it stinks to be a missionary, right? But at the same
time, we paint an incorrect picture of our experiences when we neglect to share
the times of weakness; the times we simply don’t want to be here and the times
when it’s not so glorious to live this adventurous life in the jungles of Peru
or the small fisherman villages of Haiti.
This trip has been very difficult so far; a parasite, two
bacterial infections, a high fever with severe headaches, and a possible case
of lice… and that’s in only four weeks! Besides the illnesses, there are the
general differences in living; strenuous daily tasks, no air conditioning
(simply meaning, you sweat all day every day), rats in the house every night,
tarantulas in the corners, mosquitoes and biting gnats everywhere, constant
visitors to entertain, learning a new language, the list goes on and on. And
although this sounds like a bunch of complaining, this is real life here. And
sometimes my complaining gets in the way of what the Lord is doing here.
But other times, I realize that I have a choice; I can
complain about what I don’t like and the things that are hard, or I can delight in them. Paul says, “That is
why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.” For me, it is easy to read those words and
think about how great it would be to let the Lord work through my struggles; to
delight in the Lord and His goodness, and let the troubles of the world simply
fade to the back. But when living through those struggles, the weaknesses and
hardships that bring about anger and frustration, I realize that to delight in
the Lord really is a hard and intentional choice. After all, how do you delight in the Lord
amidst 24/7 sweat, spiders, and blood sucking insects?
I’ll admit, there are several times where I want to give up and
run home to my mom; several times I break down in tears because I can’t deal
with how hard things are. But then, there are those beautiful times where I
choose to delight in the Lord, and experience His small but significant
blessings here in my life and the lives of those around me. When we are weak,
He is strong; when we lay down our lives, His life is what the people see. When
we choose to delight in Him amidst all else, He becomes the center of our
hearts desire. And that, no matter how
hard, is always a story worth sharing.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore
I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power
may rest on me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
