I just finished month 6 on the race and after being on the race for as long as I have things start to run together. Things here on the race are becoming a normal everyday process to me. Honestly my team mates and I joke about the fact that when we think of America and our lives there, it seems like a dream or a movie that is fuzzy in our heads. America seems like a long ago thought that doesn't ever seem like it will be a reality again. Obviously that isn't the case because in just 5 more short months we will be back in the same place, in the same lives that we left before starting this journey. But things will not be the same, not. at. all. That's not the blog that I want to write about right now, maybe another day but I want to write about where I am at on Month 7 on this thing called the race.
Myself, as well as a lot of people on my squad have found ourselves in a spot of comfort. I am comfortable here on the race. I am comfortable with tons of african men and women crowding around me trying to sell me things they "may have" made by hand. I am comfortable with the tiny roaches crawling all over me for a 38 hour bus ride (that was suppose to be only 21 hours) to another country for another month of ministry. I am comfortable with not taking a shower but maybe twice a week…if that (and that may or may not be because I am lazy….ok I am lazy and I shower once a week if I'm being honest). I am comfortable with not seeing my face in a mirror because for some reason these countries I am visiting don't care too much about appearances as Americans do. I am comfortable with the language barrier that is constant and little communication skills lead to poor english when spoken. At the beginning of this race, I was not comfortable. I didn't like be crowded around by people who didn't speak my language and talk to me from all directions. I wasn't comfortable being away from my comfort life back at home…but this is comfort for me now.
I don't see this as a bad thing. I love the fact that yes, I am still a spoiled American who wants a cold soda when ordering a drink (that's not always the case over here). But not only is the Lord changing me by inner healing, He is changing a lot of comforts as well. Whenever we get the opportunity to have an actual bed and a warm shower….it's a dang good day! Also, whenever we happen to run into a western toilet instead of a squatty potty….Praise The LORD (those things make your legs numb if squatting too long and yes it happens often). I am learning that these things are blessings. I am blessed beyond reason and I praise God for a toilet! YES!! I never thought I would literally be praising Jesus for a toilet. But here I am and it's so wonderful. God is so wonderful in everything. I want you to literally go sit on your toilet back at home and sing praises to the Lord. Pray while pooping!!! Think about it, you are alone in that bathroom just sitting there maybe reading a magazine and grunting….talk to the Lord. He doesn't mind, I do it all the time.
Anyways! I love how my comforts have changed and they will continue to change as I go through life. I just need to remember that in times where change occurs to always have a joyful heart and know that in the long run I am being challenged and growth occurs.
