In month five, my team partnered with BCI International in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I loved Cambodia and the Khmer people. They are a beautiful people, both inside and out. However throughout the month I found that motivation-wise, apathy and passivity waited around every corner. We taught English in a school both mornings and afternoons during the week. It was a short month, but a busy one. I adored the kids and everyone we worked alongside at our ministry, but at times I struggled with teaching English, as well as the length of our work days. In my last blog post I talked about Vietnam, and how God taught me about what it looks like to be fully intentional in my daily life (and I felt that He was nudging me to do so). I’d like to say that immediately after this realization I plunged eagerly into Cambodia with the drive to be as intentional as possible…but that wasn’t necessarily what happened. Even after gaining a deep desire to be more intentional, I found that it was easy to check out and just “go through the motions” because I felt that many of my circumstances weren’t ideal. It was easy to make excuses.
As I began reflecting on the month, I could see that the Lord was teaching me about the dangers of passivity. At that time I was reading a book called “Boundaries,” and I came across a quote that resonated with me. In one chapter the author says, “Passivity never pays off. God will match our effort, but He will never do our work for us…He wants us to be assertive and active, seeking and knocking on the door of life.” This line reminded me that not only should I fight against passivity, apathy, or discontentment, but it is my choice to be proactive. Without even realizing it, I started off my time in Cambodia with the mindset that my ministry placement and external circumstances determined the outcome of my month. But that is not the case at all. My experience is more than the situation I find myself in. I have the ability to set the tone for the month by choosing my attitude and choosing to view things through God’s eyes.
In life, we don’t always enjoy where we end up, but we have a say in how we respond. Respond, not react. The power to choose our perspective is in our hands. While researching the impact of perspective, I read that “on a regular basis, what we judge to be bad or good on a given day is really very relative to the rest of what we are experiencing and focusing on at a given time.” One of our WR coaches told us that what we focus on grows. Time and time again that statement has proven to be true. If we focus on the good, we have a positive outlook. Conversely, if we focus on what we don’t like, our thoughts become negative. Negative thoughts infect our perspective and can quickly bring us into a state of pessimism about what we’re experiencing.
When we wind up in a situation we don’t like, it is easy to become bitter. As negativity sets in, we put a limit on the opportunities available solely based on apparent obstacles. Right then and there we are already limiting what God can do in our lives. God sees the big picture in everything. We do not have the mental capacity to understand all that He can do in a situation… in month five there were times when I psychologically limited what I thought was possible because I was displeased with some of my circumstances. In the past, I’ve found that in these moments of discontentment, I have often prayed that God will bring me into a better place. However, God has shown me that He will not do my work for me. He wants to partner with me to do something about my situation… He wants me to knock on the door asking for more. He wants to show me areas where I can be assertive…to make the most of the situation He has placed me in, and to choose to find unexpected joys and pleasures in every day. He doesn’t want me to miss out on the good He is doing in my life even when it’s hard to see in the moment. And when I seek the Lord wholeheartedly, I have found that things always turn out better than I could have imagined. Perspective is so crucial – this is a lesson I also learned in Thailand (month 6). My team resolved to go into Thailand with a “no excuses” perspective and the outcome was amazing. I am hoping to write about and share those experiences with you very soon.
Thanks for reading! Love you guys,
Em
James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
