But….I’m entitled to that!
Growing up in a middle class home in Northwest Ohio, I have an expectation to the life I am allowed to live. I am entitled to live a life with a nice house, hardwood floors, a family who cares, a car to drive, a family vacation, a pair of nice shoes, a warm meal that isn’t chicken and rice EVERYDAY…EVERY MEAL! I’m starting to learn other ways…learn that I don’t deserve any of it…I was simply blessed to be born into a different situation that in my mind is considered better than some of the places I’ve been here in Peru.
Growing up in a house with a dad that is a homebuilder, we always had nice homes…since I can remember we always lived in new homes. It was nice, clean, and just as the house got old, we’d move into another nice, new house. There was a solid foundation, carpet, a solid roof, all kinds of nice luxuries…and I loved that! It’s simply not the same here in Peru. In Iquitos, I had a great experience to spend time with Deborah, a 10 year old girl who lives in a completely different place than I did when I was 10. Here’s her and her brother walking back to their home (which is in the background)…
What really matters in our lives????
I look back to my life a few short months ago. I lived in a nice house, slept on a nice bed, drove a nice car…all GREAT things! I was extremely happy with where I was in life…but was it all the STUFF that made me happy? I had great friends, is that what made me happy?
I look around here, seeing houses that are built on stilts because it floods all the time…and wonder…why do they live here? Why not pick up and move on? Go find a job somewhere…do something with your life. You are living in poverty because you choose it…but then I look around again…with different eyes…eyes of compassion, eyes not seeing the poverty, but the wealth…what I think of as seeing things in a more Godly perspective. Sure, I had a nice house, but then again, I had a nice debt to go with it. Sure, I had a nice car, but I owed money on that as well. Sure, it was all nice, but it all came with additional responsibility. Not that responsibility is wrong, but it sure isn’t the best thing in the world either! I look at the people in the village near Berea (the church we’ve been working with here in Iquitos) and see smiles. Sure, there are diseases that are apparent…and that’s not good…but look past it, see the simple things that make these incredible people smile. It took a $120,000 house, a $20,000 car, and a crap load more STUFF to make my life “happy” and here, it takes next to nothing. They don’t have the stresses of an everyday USA citizen’s life. Instead, they smile when a visitor simply drops in, even when that visitor doesn’t speak their language. Close your eyes, imagine a person knocking on your door ( or ringing your doorbell ) and you answer it…and it’s very obviously someone from another country. Would your first instinct be to open the door and invite them in? NO…we know that the world is a DANGEROUS place, and we can’t do that! We can’t trust people! But that’s not the case here…it’s OK…it’s safe. The person at the door isn’t coming in to rob you…you know that they’d be wasting their time! Instead, it’s a culture of giving…a culture of being very greatful to the people who they encounter. It’s OK to open the door. It’s safe. I laugh all the time I sit and think about it…we invite kids to the church for vacation Bible School…and the kids hold our hands as we walk them to the church…IMAGINE THAT…a complete stranger, obviously from another country, holding your child’s hand and walking them away from your house, and you aren’t in the least bit worried…not because you don’t love your children, but because you actually trust and have faith in the people of the world. I’ve learned so much to not trust people…everyone’s out to get you, and rip you off…and that sucks joy out of your life. You aren’t friends with those you don’t trust…so if you trust people in the world, you have a lot more potential for friends!
Look into the eyes of Deborah. Does she look sad? Does she look like she is missing out on anything in life? Is she entitled to more out of life? My flesh cries out, yes, this girl who loves to be hugged, loves to be held, loves to laugh, loves to play jokes on our group, climbs trees like anyone I’ve ever known…she deserves more blessings…she is an incredible inspiration to how you can truly be happy without much. I met her as she was barefoot, walking around without even sandals…through the mud trenches, over the dirt paths, across the rickety wood bridge…she curls up on my lap at the evening service, shivering from being cold…all with a smile on her face because life is good…her laugh will make you smile from the inside out. Has God loved me more than her because I had more STUFF than her? No…we’ve simply lived different lives in different places, and God loves us both the same. I wonder, God, can I sacrifice some of those blessings that you’ve given me in life and give some of them to her? Wait…if I give some blessings to her, and some to the next person who deserves more (in my eyes), and then the next and the next and the next…I may not have any more blessings from God in my life….would I be willing to do that?
Would You?
More on this “Entitlements” series to come throughout the year.
I also have added TONS of picture to my site: markstratmann.com, so be sure to check them out!!!
