Note:
the following is a random collection of thoughts from my sickbed. There’s no
real rhyme or reason. It’s pretty much stream of consciousness. Just felt I
needed to share. Thanks.
We have been in Budapest for 5 days now. I have spent thepast two and a half days in bed sick. My team is loving this city-I think I
will too when I actually see more of it. God is so good and has provided
exactly what we felt led to do.
We stepped out in faith coming to Budapest. We had one
contact who hadn’t gotten back to us in awhile, but we had a place to stay and
a way to get here within budget, so we left Bucharest with prayerful hearts and
a desire to serve.
And God has totally shown up. There are ministry
opportunities for everything we expressed interest in doing, and it is so cool
to see how stepping out in faith is rewarded in this way. Check out Kathryn’s
blog for more.
As for me, the sickie, I am feeling better. I am ready to
leave our hostel for awhile-it’s essentially been a few days of house arrest,
since we live in a 7 floor walk-up. No
joke. The sun is shining and the team has expressed such interest and passion
about the ministry opportunities here.
I am so
excited to be in Budapest. It was one of the few western/central European
capitals I hadn’t been to yet, and I was so glad when the rest of the team felt
God was laying Hungary on their hearts. There are cafes and bookshops
everywhere, and really cool architecture.
So basically now I am just waiting to be better. I had a
thought, though, on the first day I was really sick, which I wanted to share.
ibuprofen, but when I couldn’t find it, I decided to just take Tylenol Cold. I
was upset at first about not finding the ibuprofen, and then I realized the
LUXURY I had in even having one drug to help alleviate symptoms, let alone a
choice in the matter. I also remembered how blessed I was to be sick in a room
with a bed, electricity, flushing toilets and running, drinkable water, where I
could google how to get to the doctor’s office if it got bad, and could take a
taxi to get there, on paved roads, where I could then use health insurance and
a credit card to get medical treatment.
Oh, how quickly we forget. It was only two months ago that
we were in Uganda, ministering to the poor and despondent, where the nearest
hospital wasn’t even stocked with necessary medicine or a doctor. Where the two
hour drive back to the nearest big town might be impossible to make because of
flooded dirt roads, and medical emergencies would probably have to be answered
by prayer depending on the season and the person’s financial situation.
vast majority of this hurting world. I have the luxury of choosing between
Ibuprofen and Tylenol, of asking my teammate to buy me crackers because pizza
wouldn’t suit my sick stomach, of drinking water from the tap (or buying
bottled), of so many other choices and decisions that most people on this
planet are stripped of day one of their birth because of where they are born.
I have seen so much this year. I don’t even know how to put
it into words. And now we are in the “western world” and it seems like a whole
new ballgame. But really, is it? Aren’t we, as humans, all innately searching
for the same things? Meaning to life, hope, love, peace? Or at an even more
basic level, just to have our needs met? Our needs for food, water, shelter,
and then the luxury of love? The luxury of the meaning of life?
(<–THIS IS a LIE!)
and why they matter. I would tell them, Turn to God. He will show you who you
are. I know, because he’s shown me. You matter because you are a child of God.
Step out in purpose, step out in passion, in intentionality,
in being yourself.
This week’s episode of Glee was called Grilled Cheesus. It
was an interesting insight into a variety of American psyches about religion.
If you didn’t watch it, I would recommend checking it out. They do a fairly
balanced job of expressing a variety of opinions on spirituality.
Ultimately, though, it made me sad. Because I know the
truth. And THE TRUTH was not expressed in that episode. It suggested everyone
needs something to believe in, but no absolute truth fits everyone. The
Christian character who was vocal about her faith said it was okay not to
believe in God, that it was a personal preference…I mean…if you know the truth,
which is saving and changing your life, and you know without that truth, the
person is destined to an eternity without the presence of God…then is it okay
to not believe in God? I mean, maybe it doesn’t personally offend me if you don’t,
though I really pray you will…
It was a good hour of television, and I think it raises some
important questions. But I also wish there had been more actual truth spoken-like
us being children of God. It was very vague in some ways. It was a step forward
for the conversation about spirituality in America, but not necessarily for
truth.
We have been overseas now for a little over nine months. We
have seen things around the world, but for many of us, we have also been
enlightened to what is going on at home. What spiritual strongholds are over
America-complacency, materialism, what I like to call the Judges phenomenon
(everybody just did what seemed right to them [In those days Israel had no
king; everyone did as he saw fit. Judges 17:6; In those days Israel had no
king; everyone did as he saw fit. Judges 21:25]).
Something else I learned a few days ago was that the amazing
man of God, Joshua, had one character flaw-he didn’t really raise up the next
generation of leaders or instruct them in the ways of the Lord. So when his
generation died out, the next generation grew up without knowing the Lord or
what He had done for Israel (Joshua 2:10).
I don’t want to be part of the generation that forgets what
God has done, and I don’t want my children to be part of that either. I want to
stand on the shoulders of greatness and I want my children and spiritual
children to stand on my shoulders and go further than I could.
I have learned a lot this year about the importance of
people pouring into you and you pouring into others. In light of that, I am
currently accepting applications for a Paul and a Timothy in my life when I get
home. Okay, well, maybe not applications, but it is something I am praying for.
I am praying for and will be looking for someone willing to believe and invest in
me, and someone I can believe in and invest in. This has been on my heart for
awhile, because I believe this is the kind of relational discipleship that the
church needs to grow committed Christ followers and not just Sunday morning
Christians. Listening to the sermon series, I Believe in You, by Craig Groeschel
of Lifechurch.tv (Check them out here), confirmed this in my heart, so I will
continue praying about this.
Well, there you have it. Some random collection of some of what
I’ve been thinking about. You have a lot of time to think when you spend a few
days by yourself.
