She walked onto the back porch, the screen door slamming shut behind her and the cool of the evening a welcome change from the heat of the day. The sandstone tiles were still warm from the afternoon sun as she padded to the washing machine in her bare feet. One after another she hung the clothes up to dry on the line, the floral tank top she wore to the school with the girl sitting lonely on the corner of the side walk, the purple shorts worn the afternoon she ran through the gravel and dirt playing soccer with a volleyball and she had worn that grey shirt at the trash dump with the church made out of tarps, old movie posters and computer parts in the middle. The green pants…she paused as she saw that the Express label on the inner waistband had all but faded away. The knees were faded and worn, but these were special jeans, hand-me-downs from her older sister, her best friend.
She stood there, holding onto the jeans a little longer as she lingered on the memories they brought up: sitting on the floor of her older sister’s room pouring her heart out, country and western dancing at Rockies, sitting in the back of a friends living room and looking out over a group of college students ready to follow Jesus wherever He called them. When had hand-me-downs become such precious possessions? The aqua t-shirt was new, but she had dropped it in a pile of clothes going to the church she and her teammates had been staying at in a heartbeat. The pink skirt, black yoga pants, and shorts quickly followed. She didn’t need the extra washcloth, the body spray or the navy shirt. She had gotten rid of so much, but still had so much more than she needed or even wanted!
The little boys she had played soccer with always had to pause the game because the crocs that were two sizes too small kept falling off their feet, but those were the only shoes that they had. They would work all day long to help her move a pile of gravel, but they didn’t have protein powder or Gatorade. If she wasn’t out of the compound with the soccer ball, they were kicking a ball of paper and tape with huge grins on their face. She had made coffee without filters, coffee maker or coffee pot, cooked for a couple weeks with the only knife being a butter knife, and despite the fact that she only had five dollars a day for food, she was always full and there were leftovers. Maybe there was something to the manna from heaven that the Israelites received? Something about asking only for daily bread?
A couple days later she was with her squad and everyone was in the process of getting rid of more clothes, sleeping pads and pillows and she realized that there was even more she could drop from her own pack. As her pack became lighter, her stride had a little more freedom, her shoulders were less hunched and her pace grew quicker. She was learning to live in the moment, to let go of her worries for tomorrow because the days at hand had enough troubles and joys of their own. It was painful to let go of each item, as she thought to herself, “when I’m in Africa and everything has holes in it, I am going to wish I had held onto that t-shirt”, but feeling the conviction and remembering that her Father was a generous and loving provider, she put it down.
Lord, let this be our hearts:
“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: keep falsehood far from me; give me neither poverty nor riche, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Proverbs 30:7-9
Life Updates:
I laughed when…my teammate told me a story of her having to use the restroom out of a car window. Actually, we all laughed so hard our sides hurt and it was the best laugh I have had in a long time. I am laughing right now as a matter of fact just thinking about it.
I missed Texas…when I had to explain to my teammates what a stock pond was while we were drinking real sweet tea.
The Lord reminded me that…His promises are for sure and that He is moving in my life when three different people talked to me about the same town that I felt called to visit during unsung heroes (Its name is Punta Arenas and I believe God has something for us there if you would like to be praying for that)
I am praying for…the miraculous to occur during Unsung Heroes, for wisdom and love for our squad as we walk through this month and for God’s heart for the people of Chile.
I read…Monster, a book about a young man charged for a murder he did not participate in. Afterwards, I looked up law schools, LSAT dates, fees, different law specialties and timelines. Don’t worry mom and dad, it is probably just a brief interest.
