I’ve seen Gods Grace in my sickness over the past year. I have always had a deep loneliness when thinking about being sick and alone. Living alone felt unbearable…. Let alone be sick and alone!!! My current roommate goes home quite a bit to visit her family….leaving me….. you guessed it :0) alone :0) This summer was the first time she was gone for an extended amount of time. I expectedto be deeply apprehensive and fearful while she was gone…but the Lord gave me a peace I never expected and a desire that NOTHING hold me back from following Him! I have a good friend who is living alone overseas because to live with the other American couple she knows would be inappropriate in the culture she is living in. Her only options are to take in a national as a roommate, but that would be complicated since she is a Christian, and the nation is hostile to Christ. To follow God, it requires her to be a single woman, living alone, in a foreign land….WOW! My prayer….
“God! I don’t want ANYTHING to hold me back from following you completely! I don’t know what my future holds, but if you need to prepare me now….I submit. Help Me!”
And wow did He show up!!! Not only was I completely unafraid, but I even got really really sick while she was gone….and I was OK! Being alone was not as bad as I thought it would be:0) I didn’t have the deep loneliness I had come to fear. Instead, I had a deep joy and peace and full trust in the Lord! WOW! He loves to surpass our expectations…. To do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ever ask or think. He is Lord, even in my illness!
Well, as you may have guessed, I’m sick again :0) AND… alone again :0) But it feels like no big deal! In fact, this time, I am savoring being alone, and comfortable :0) I have a thermostat I can adjust at will…any medication I need at my fingertips. An American toilet! A shower. (There is something about a good shower that you feel like the germs are being washed away, especially when you start feeling better). I though I would reflect on some difference between being sick in America, and what it may be like to be sick on The World Race.
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America |
The World Race |
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Medicine |
Anything I need at my fingertips |
Hope to have some medicine that can treat even some symptoms |
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Doctor |
I know I can go if I need to, even if it means dipping into savings. A feeling that you can trust the doctor treating you |
May or may not be able to even get to a doctor for some time, even in an emergency. No real idea if you can or should trust the doctors diagnosis or skills |
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Temperature |
Access to control the temperature/moisture of my environment. |
No A/C or heater, subject to the temperature, humidity and moisture of the weather. |
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Shower |
I can shower as often as I like! |
I may not even have running water, and a sponge bath once a week will be a luxury in many places. |
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Disinfectant |
I have plenty of Lysol, Anti-Viral tissues, and can throw my sheets and clothes in the washing machine as needed. |
No means of ‘proper’ disinfecting aside from boiling what I can. No washing machines, so will need to rely on teammates to take my clothes to a tub of water for washing. Doesn’t exactly sound like the stuff ‘bugs’ die by…. |
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Toilet |
American toilet a few steps away, all to myself |
An literal outhouse… outside (often with no roof), away from the main building that I share with everyone else living at the facility. (who wants to run through mud in the rain to squat over a hole only to find it ‘occupied’ by another sick racer….. |
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Food |
Access to whatever my tummy can handle, or whatever I ‘feel like’ eating, including sherbet or OJ, or fruit |
Reliant on whatever food is available and hoping the smells of cooking food don’t make me nauseous. Quote of the day from current racer….”on The World Race we get very little fresh produce (if any), and as for variety, well….its fairly inexistent” |
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Type of Sickness |
Standard stuff I can usually ‘ride out’ like a cold, or ear ache, or even the flu |
Unknown, crazy illnesses like parasites, malaria, typhoid, or even worse (even vaccinations are not 100% guarantees and many racers get Very ill) |
While much of this sounds like sacrifice and inconvenience….this is the way a lot of the world lives every day! Adequate medical care is a luxury many never know. I am humbled at the opportunity to live this way by choice. I pray that during times of sickness overseas, the Lord will peirce my heart for those who are ill and are away from the Lord. Those who have no hope of healing in this life, or the next. While my earthly body is daily passing away, my heavenly body is perfect…a hope I can trust because I am an heir to the throne of Grace.
Prayer for the Lost: Will you pray with me for those around the world who do not know the Love of Christ to comfort them in their infirmity. That the Lord of the harvest would send laborers to reach them before their final hour. That He would speak to them and capture their hearts with peace and new life!
Prayer for Me & my team: Will you pray with me that the Lord protect me from serious illness and harm.
· That my organs would not harbor dormant viruses like Malaria.
· That my immune system would remain strong despite the lack of ‘balance’ in my diet
· That I would have access to GOOD medical care –
o pray wisdom for any doctors who will treat me and my team – that God would be preparing them even now.
· That I would feel Gods peace and kindness in the midst of any sickness or pain
· Finances – pray that the Lord will provide all the finances we need to receive care for any illness or injury
My Prayer for YOU: Lord, be with my friend at any point of illness or pain. Let them feel your love, peace, and kindness. Give wisdom to the doctors and medical professionals who will treat my friend. Prepare them even now to be able to quickly and accurately help with any future issues. Would you pierce my friends heart with the plight of the lost and hurting around the world who do not know the comforts of a soft bed, good food, and medical care during times of illness. Use my friend for Your Glory! Show them something new about why you are!
