Peru and my stomach are in their first year of marriage.
And everyone knows that the first year is the most difficult. But we’re both committed for the long haul, so don’t worry… Neither one of us are quitting. We’re practicing the James 1:2-4 principle together.
Incidentally, I’m not the only one. I do get the prize for the sickness longevity (a week and 2 days today), but there have been many of us World Racers suffering from… whatever this bug is.
After this past week, I’ve come to a fresh understanding of this: We are comforted so that we can then comfort those around us. In the midst of my weakness this week was the first time I really began to miss my comforts of home…
When I’m sick, all I want is my mom, an air conditioned room, clean bathrooms, Cambell’s chicken noodle soup, “Lord of the Rings”, and a squishy bed. What a United States baby I can be… Yesterday I went to the doctor in hopes that they would give me an I.V. to boost my system back to a normal state. But they wouldn’t. And I was a tad bit annoyed. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and I wanted to feel better NOW…
But conviction came so tenderly… Oh, me and my microwave- instant- gratification mindset… I realized that I’m more used to having things at my fingertips than I thought I was. “Sorry Jesus… I’ll be patient. Teach me…” So the doctor sent me on my way with many-a-pill and a couple bottles of straight up electrolytes.
Being sick, you have can deep empathy for others who are sick. And when you’ve been in places of pain, you have deep empathy for those in pain. Today, I’m starting to feel a bit better, and am looking forward to when I can start taking care of the people who are just starting to come down with stuff. There really is something to this: We go through what we go through in life largely for other people…
For a few days I was able to do little except lay down, pray, and listen. So many of my teammates came to check on us sick folks and tended to our pathetic needs. 🙂 I reflected on the path that God has had me on these last few years, and how He has led me to where I’m at now. He reminded me that no tear I’ve ever shed has been wasted. No ounce of pain is for nothing. And no experience is futile.
More than likely, many of the places I will minister most effectively over the next 11 months, and the next 80 years, will be the places the Lord has prepared me for. He always goes before us…
I understand broken families, I understand depression and anxiety, and I understand the devastation of unhealthy relationships. And the Lord has walked with me (sometimes carried me) through them all. Because He has given me Hope in my dark places, I have Hope to give to people who don’t have much yet in their’s.
One of my heroes, Papa Larry, said it this way: “It is out of our brokenness that we minister to others.”
I agree. We have to embrace our stories, the good, the bad, and the ugly, so that we can allow God’s grace and strength to be proclaimed through them. So in sickness and health, for better or for worse, I’m learning to embrace my story and all that that entails.
