My fingertips have come to a blank blog setting at least 15 times since my last post. I had really been searching for what exactly I felt God was trying to tell all of you through this beast since I have returned to America. A lot of things have been going on while I’ve been here but it seems like it was easier to pin down what I needed to say when I was further away and out of the American spiritual culture. Not that there is something wrong with America, but America is just so different.
Being soaked into the differences has so many goings on that my perception is sometimes skewed. I can get a grasp of what is happening around me, yet this place has baffles me day to day. Most if not all cultures we lived in on the WR were very oriented around staying the same and never really thinking outside of the box, unless they had contact with Westerners (like me). A lot of the countries just didn’t know that a different life was available at all. I’ve really started to notice (and slowly appreciate) just how blessed we all are with the enlightenment we can reach at the literal touch of a button. The information that leads to open eyes wasn’t always there for the general third world population and most people didn’t even know that it was accessible at all.
It may sound funny and relatively normal to you, but having FREEDOM OF SPEECH, knowing that we can have and talk about feelings, readily accessible clean water, general stores with food that represents all food groups, doctors that have more than a bachelors degree in basic biology, schools that don’t beat information into children’s heads with no application to their actual lifestyles, the ability to actually go to college, beds to sleep in every night, a toilet that has a seat and flushes, shoes to wear every day, public transportation with actual regulations are just a small list of things I never thought I would think twice about. The thing that so many of them were missing, however, was the truth of Christ.
It hurt my heart every time I would walk into a small town and people had little to no knowledge about Christ or how much He truly loves them. It was hard enough trying to immerse yourself in a culture where true Western accessibility is unheard of but even harder to know that so many will go without ever knowing just how personal Jesus really is.
Our extra-long laundry list of advantages at arms reach are things that are fantastic, but we must remember that they are fleeting. The only thing I know I need is to stand as firm as I possibly can in the only Truth. I don’t want to float and flit into material possessions or find myself taking great value solely in relationships. Of all the things God blesses me with, the only thing I need is the saving grace and promise I have with Christ. I am so thankful to be alive and kicking with all I’ve got and I know I need to give all credit where credit is due. To be free to really speak about our hearts and know that Christ can be discussed with others is a luxury many do not know of. Please, don’t take that for granted.
