Knock, knock, knock.
Roll over, check the time. 7 AM.
Maybe I dreamt it.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
I’m sleeping.
I’m not dressed to get up.
(because clothes equal sweat)
Leighton gets up and opens the door.
Our lovely, beautiful host
hands her something.
Is it a juice box?
Is it a cookie?
Is it fruit?
Is it crackers?
What is our unwelcome surprise today?
I roll over to attempt
a few more moments of shut eye.
I relent and annoyingly
meander my way out of bed.
Eventually, I go pee and flush the
toilet with a bucket of water filled
from the cement water basins outside.
I open my Bible and turn some
worship music on in my earbuds.
All the while, trying not to disturb
my bedmate, Leighton.
Eventually, I put on clothes
for the day that are a
couple days old and full of sweat.
Will it be pants or a skirt today?
I brush my teeth using
the filtered water in my Nalgene
to avoid water sickness.
I finish by throwing my unwashed hair
in a bun because its too hot
and sweaty to wear it down.
Buenos dias.
Buenos dias!
Tenga un buen día!
Tenga un buen día!
Adios!
Chao!
We sling on our Kavus full of all
the days necessities and embark
on our day ahead.
Leighton and I make our way
through the city center.
Fruit stands are plenty along with
twenty motos at every turn.
We cross the streets never failing
to look both ways for fear of being
swiped by a moto or bicycle.
I hear sounds of motos whizzing by
along with the whistling and hissing
presumably at the only two gringos
waltzing down the street.
Ten minutes later,
Leighton and I find ourselves
at the church drenched in sweat
and its only 8:30.
This is all before a normal day has really had enough time to unravel. Yet, in just an hour,
life looks vastly different from my life eight months ago.
[“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”]
I love the idea that through a string of ordinary decisions, saying yes to the right ones, will give you an extraordinary life.
The challenge, however, comes when your extraordinary life becomes normal. Lately, I find myself constantly stepping outside of my life to remind myself, this right here, is my ordinary turned extraordinary life. I am living an extraordinary life.
You know what? You can have that same extraordinary life. You don’t have to travel the world for an extraordinary life. You don’t have to have a new car or a fancy house to live an extraordinary life. All you need is an abundance of “yes”, a dose of faith, and a grateful heart. That’s it.
Look for opportunities to serve those around you and when God gives you an opportunity to bless someone, say yes.
Eventually, a chain of “yes” will begin to develop and you’ll look back at your life three months later only to realize you’ve grown your faith in small doses and become grateful along the way.
Sometimes to have the extraordinary become our ordinary, we have to make space. God might ask you to sacrifice some things. In fact, He probably will because He needs space to create the extraordinary in your cluttered life.
But, I can promise you, it’s so worth it.
God’s best for you is on the way.
Choose it.
