Ernest Hemingway was once quoted “write hard and clear about what hurts” and that is exactly what I hope to achieve here. The enemy is a thief that comes as every distraction you can, and cannot, imagine. I spent the holidays living on the side of a mountain in the Himalayans with Pastor Indra and his wife Jyoti. The view was so gorgeous it was surreal and we fell asleep to the sound of the rushing rapids below. I would love to say I woke up every morning with a huge smile on my face, excited to go trek around the villages, but that would be a lie. And that is exactly what happens when we encounter spiritual warfare, we believe the lies of the enemy.
I slept horizontally on a full size bed with two other teammates because we literally covered every square inch of the room we were provided. And when we slept overnight on dirt floors of unknown homes after days spent hiking we were hip to hip. I would love to say that I was terribly grateful to have a roof over my head all those nights it rained, but I was more distracted by not having heat and spending countless hours shivering and wondering when the water would come back on.
We had a limited supply of food that consisted mainly of peanut butter and granola bars. Due to a recent landslide there was scarce electricity and I had never been so sick of eating the same thing over and over again. But at the end of the day we never went hungry and we were even blessed to eat traditional Nepali meals with not only our host family, but countless others that we traveled to share the Word with. They were encouraged by our faith, grateful we had come so far for the same God that they praise. But little did they know that in the back of my mind I was desperate to talk to my own family, especially as Christmas drew closer.
One of my assignments was to put my art skills to use on a mural for the new school. We designed the story of creation across the front of the building and left a gorgeous image for sharing the gospel. The hope is that it will open up the topic of Christ and his love for all the students that enter through the doors to their classrooms, and then back to their families and villages that they come from. It was a supernatural month as well and we witnessed healings and cast out demons with our own hands to the glory of God. And I still managed to be counting down the days until we got to leave. The enemy is a thief and I was being robbed every day.
I also had the opportunity to teach at the local school to beautiful snot faced children that were begging for our attention and love. This is also where the orphans we lived with were educated and there was one in particular who stole my heart and helped me to see the happiness I was continuing to miss. Her name was Samjhana and despite her lack of English we talked everyday. And every day she made sure to ask me if I was happy, so everyday I would respond yes although that wasn’t exactly what I felt.
But she did make me really think about how this pain I was feeling was only temporary and it would pass. I tried to seek content and happiness, to embrace the struggle of being uncomfortable for a little while longer. One night while gathering with the locals to celebrate Christmas Eve as I held Samjhana she asked me if I wanted to see heaven. I replied yes very curious to see what this little girl had imagined. She cleverly grabbed my headlamp and shined it up at the night sky. So simple. Light will overcome darkness every time, sometimes you just have to remember to turn it on. Recognize whatever lies that have been spoken into your life. Whether you feel like you aren’t good enough or pretty enough, that you aren’t smart enough for that school, or you won’t ever land that dream job… you don’t have accept it. Just shine light on those areas of your life and watch the lies disappear into grace. Life can always look brighter if you really want it to.
