It wasn’t the squatty potties, or the 2 months straight of bucket showers, or the internet for an hour or two per week for three months that broke me…
I looked down at my pillow just before hopping into bed with hopes of recovering from a long day of serving. I was disgusted. The pillow was moist. Again. The humidity mixed with no air conditioner, added to the almost unbearable heat…my pillow will never be dry, at least not this month.
And no sooner did my head hit the pillow that I thought to myself ‘what a selfish, privileged heart.’
How many children have I come across this year that would be thankful for a bed, let alone a pillow?
Who am I to think that I deserve a dry pillow? Now I know that all of you sitting at home with your great connection internet, water you can drink from the tap, and a pillow top mattress are thinking that I am being dramatic. You might be right. I need to be reminded that:
God enjoys blessing us.
Malachi 3:10 reads, “bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
And Deuteronomy 28: 1-2, “the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.”
It is not my right to receive blessings. God doesn’t have to give them, and I certainly don’t deserve them. In these situations it’s simply important to recognize the blessing and be thankful for it.
The Race has helped me grow in recognizing my blessings, whether it’s a pillow, or an Oreo cookie. And I certainly don’t want to lose my thankfulness for the small things, but I’m going to need your help when I get home to remember that it’s ok to receive a blessing, too. As I sit down to a $20 meal I may think of the 80 children in South Africa that I fed for half that price. And if the worry ever comes across my face, please encourage me to enjoy the blessing…because it’s a gift from Him.
I want to live a life of thankfulness. One that easily sees the blessings.
