Life on the race is weird. I live in a room with 9 other girls, all of my clothes are shoved in one locker, my bed is on the top bunk, I sleep with a stuffed dolphin, I go on spontaneous/accidental adventures, I work until the blisters on my hands explode, and I often I laugh ‘til I cry. I love the city we’re in and this life I get to live, but I also miss home – I miss my family and friends, I miss my dogs, I miss my car, I miss wandering around by myself, and I miss American food so much. You find things to help when it’s hard though. I found out Thai food is actually not too shabby, I found a whole new family and group of friends who understand what it’s like to leave it all behind in my squad/team, and, most importantly, I found lemon soda.
That’s just a list of random things that came to my mind about some things on the Race so far. As you can tell, it’s not all glitz and glam. Some days are good and some days are rough. Life on the Race is kind of like life at home, but I’m in Thailand. When I have a tough day, I can’t go hiking by myself or take a long drive. Instead, I sit in my bunk and watch a funny movie, or I go get a lemon soda with a friend.
Lemon soda is a magical drink. The man that works at Coffee Cantina in Pantip Plaza makes the best. When he sees me come in, he grins and asks, “lemon soda?” The lemon sodas he makes are my favorite because they hold just the right amount of sour and sweet (maybe you see where I’m going with this). This is how life is on the Race and, honestly, in general. We weren’t promised an easy life in exchange for following Jesus. Some parts of life are sour, and the others are so incredibly sweet. It’s easy to give thanks to God on the sweet days (like when you go on a great adventure or have a good conversation with a friend), but it’s important to do so on the hard days as well – the days when you don’t feel like getting out of bed or there’s a lot going on with work or you just feel drained. So, how can we be thankful when we can’t see anything positive anywhere? We look up. When you hit rock bottom, that’s your only choice, really. At training camp the phrase “rooftop dwellers” was prophesied over our squad. This means that we are a group of people that can see things from a different perspective – a higher perspective.
If you’re standing on the street in Chiang Mai Thailand, realistically, most of what you’d see would be dirty. You may see trash on the ground or smell the oh-so-lovely scent of sewer. From a higher perspective, like a roof, you’d see more of the city, the mountains, and the sky. When you look down, you still see the dirty streets, and it might still stink, but you can see beyond all of that.
You don’t actually have to go to Thailand and stand on a roof to see God in hard situations. You can find joy in life’s more difficult days right where you’re at. I’m not saying I’ve had an epiphany – I still struggle sometimes to see past the tough things, but finding something to be thankful for in those things makes giving thanks in the good even sweeter. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks IN all circumstances for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” We don’t thank God for the bad circumstances (i.e. cancer or losing a job) because those aren’t from Him. The key lies in the simple, two-letter word: in. The Lord yearns for us to choose to give thanks in all circumstances trusting that He is going to use those things and work all things for good.
So, today, I’m tired. My back hurts from swinging a pick axe and shoveling a pile of gravel, but I’m choosing thankfulness in the face of pain and exhaustion. Pain and exhaustion may not be good and may not be from God, but there are SO many things for me to still praise Him for in the midst of that. I’m thankful for my teammates laughter getting me through our days of ministry, I’m thankful for the long songthaew rides to ministry where I get to listen to my favorite music, I’m thankful for my stuffed dolphin (it makes a super nice pillow), and I’m really thankful for lemon soda. Seriously, it’s so good.
Thanks for reading my blog! I am loving life right now, and it’s so amazing to have all of your support back home. I’m still $4,605 away from my goal and being able to stay in the field. I have until January 1st to get there, and I need your help! Whether that means joining with me in prayer and/or supporting me financially, everything helps, and I am so grateful for the support!
-Claire
