The earliest dreams I can remember having as a child were to grow up and play in the NBA like Michael Jordan…. things have changed….
Okay, I do dream to be like this guy… but I also dream about…
1. Hot water… I feel tickled just thinking about it, or I feel warm, whatever… it would be awesome!
2. Running water… Wow… I’ll take it coming out of a shower head please. You mean it just comes out and then goes down the drain and I never see it again?… I’ll believe it when I see it! or don’t see it!
3. Clean water… that I can drink or bathe in without thinking I’m getting more dirty. Wait, did you say I can drink what comes out of the faucet?
4. A comfortable seat to sit on while I go number two…any seat for that matter!! oh for the simple pleasures in life to be all the more pleasurable!! And simple!! Whatever number, 1-10, if there are that many, I’ve seen some numbers I didn’t know existed… yeah, when it’s time to go, its off to the .. duh.. duh.. duh.. duh… The Squattie Potty!! I usually do some breathing exercises before I go in to max my resources of oxygen…., take my last breath, hold deeply, and charge! Then it becomes a tricky race to finish the business before passing out! I can see the headline… “American Missionary Found Passed Out in Squattie: Investigation Stinks!”
this is an Elite Rock Encased-Squattie with a great view!!
5. Plugging in my electronics without a converter… How cool would that be? It just goes right in the wall?
6. Having stable electricity, if any… this is of course to feed all my idols… they live mostly on electricity, and don’t have good battery life… those idols never do deliver like they say…(I guess God is the only one without an INPUT jack!) but it’d be nice to give my vices a fix… ipod, camera, computer, internet, movies… I mean, anything to stop me from having to talk to people.
7. Worshiping in English… okay, talk about feeling cut off from a people… gives me a whole new perspective at 1 Cor 14. I mean, this was cool the first week… and maybe cool for a video or something… I have fallen in love all over again with Phil Wickham, David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Hillsong, Aaron Keyes, Ronnie Freeman, Brian and Jenn Johnson, Sovereign Grace, Charlie Hall, United Pursuit Band, Matt Redman, Daniel Renstrom, Jonathan David Helser, Enter the Worship Circle, Jason Upton….You guys are my heros… not for your music… I mean its great and all… but for singing in English!!
8. Not having to have a translator… Are you serious? I could just talk directly to people? Nah, I can’t imagine it. Wait? You mean I could understand the preacher?? Nah… get out of here!
9. Not having to share a bed with someone… that is, unless I ever get married. For now, I’ll take a space more than my shoulder width, please.
10. Fans… moving air has never meant so much to me in my life!
11. Air Conditioning… I’m getting greedy and I know it, and I don’t care… Actually, while I’m at it, go ahead and make it so cold I have to get out extra blankets… and I’ll get sooo cozy… I might even put on a fire and pretend it’s dead winter.
12. Eating with confidence…, yeah, I’d love to know what I’m eating… and to call things by their names rather than “green stuff” and “red stuff”… to swallow without the fear… what freedom?
13. A solid stomach… you get the picture. Sorry.
14. Friends and Family… have they ever meant more to me in my life!!!!!!!!
15. Alone time… this cannot be overexaggerated… I eat, sleep, and breathe with others! All of a sudden getting home to America and locking myself in a closet for 2 months doesn’t sound all that bad… and that brings me to the next one…
16. Silence…
17. Not living out of a bag… unpack, pack it up, move, unpack, pack it up, move… I might go into the shelf making business, those things seem pretty useful to me nowadays.
18. Being able to understand what people are saying… what?
19. Being able to choose between American, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, or whatever else the kind of food I want… never thought I’d say this, but the mall food court is looking some kind of appealing. Just ordering food sounds like the greatest privilege!
20. Driving my car… turning where I want to turn, going the speed I want to go, listening to the music I want to listen to, rolling up and down the window whenever and however I want.
21. Playing sports… to compete in a game of basketball in a gym?!!…Really, I don’t need a ball, or anyone else, just let me lie down on a freshly polished, hard-wood floor… I’d be great.
22. Being able to make my own schedule… I mean I like feeling like I’m in Kindergarten and all… but where is nap time, animal crackers, and recess? And can we play with the parachute today, please?
23. Being able to make my own decisions… sometimes I feel like those sheep have more freedom than I do… wait? I am one of those sheep… okay, Jesus, You keep making my decisions for me!
24. An American grocery store… I would get kicked out before I even got a chance to buy anything… although, you can bet I would have already sampled entire isles!!
25. Chick-fil-A … I might fill my Nalgene up with Polynesian sauce… Oh for a number one, with a substituted cookies & cream shake and large waffle fries!!!
26. Some sense of normalcy in life… I mean this isn’t weird or anything, constantly changing countries and continents… currently in a bamboo structure on the side of a mountain in Nepal, living with four other people, trying our best to shine the gospel to a people that can’t understand a thing we say or do… and we’re leaving in twelve days to do it all over again in a completely new context with new challenges and joys.
27. Being able to pour into relationships that last more than three weeks… well, it makes it nice when you make mistakes, cause you never have to see them again.
28. Being able to call and talk to people… I think I’m gonna go for that “unlimited everything data all you can eat buffet five friend circle free incoming netflix messaging combo benefits internet plan” when I get back home. Doesn’t matter how much it costs.
29. Reliable, fast, and convenient internet… forget wireless… just give me a connection… then I can escape for hours and virtually disappear, consuming myself within a digital world, not having to risk or give anything relationally, but feeling myself edified, and indulging myself in the blissful state of forsaking any real responsibility or calling in life.
30. Protein, I’m withering away… meat please! I said meat, not weird body parts, thanks. This is what happened last time i had a craving…
31. Ministry with expectations… we have em’, we just never know what they are till we show up. In the tone of the guy from Office Space, “Yeah,…. if Ya’ll could just preach for three hours, that’d be great… yeah,… if you could just do that… thanks.
32. Living where people abide by American cultural norms… I’m sorry, I like you more than two inches away from my face… and no, I don’t think it’s okay if you stare into my room for hours, and no, hocking up lungs and spitting them out is not pleasant, and putting your hand on my inner thigh is not comforting, and having to finish my plate to make you think I liked the food is weird.
33. Ice-cold soda!!…. any flavor will do… shout out to all the Cherry Coke lovers around the world!! Wait.. cherry coke is only in America!
I could go on… I will spare you my negativity…
In all seriousness… It’s easy to let the frustrations of life eat up all your joy… I’ve spent far too much time myself, in the joyless boat, sailing the waters of bitterness… allowing the little foxes to ruin the vineyard… allowing myself to take part in unfruitful dreaming (although such dreaming does provide the bulk of our laughter out here)… But I can find myself amidst discontentment, choosing comfort over calling… surviving rather than thriving…
You know, we quote Phil 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” all the time… usually to do extra push-ups, throw a touchdown pass, or ace an exam. What we don’t usually do is read the verse in context…
“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content… I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The verse is not about “changing” circumstance at all, it’s about being “content” within circumstance. It’s about treasuring Christ, and finding in Him alone a satisfaction that transcends the circumstances of this world…. good or bad.
In His all-sufficient grace for my weaknesses… I repent.
