My feet ache and my bones are tired. Kids wipe the snot from their noses then put their hands in my mouth. I get 4 hours of sleep a night then spend the whole next day in my room trying to fight my exhaustion even though I don’t want to. I change diapers and make bottles and take temperatures all night long even when I think I can’t take another step. Babies cry snd cry even after i’ve tried everything and I start to think I’m gonna lose it. I don’t say all of this in the form of a complaint, I say it in the form of my reality. I really do experience and feel all of these things each day and night, but even when I think I’ve really had enough the Lord shows up with his power, strength, and ever present joy at hand to remind me why I am here.
The hard things will always be a part of everything we do regardless of if it’s ministry or just life. But when we ask the Father for HIS eyes to see our circumstances, the good most definitely out weighs the hard. Always.
I get to put all of the babies to bed every night and stand in the room and pray over each and every crib as they fall asleep. I get to sing to them and rub their backs when they just need a friend around. I get to play and laugh with them as they tackle me to the ground and are laughing so hard I can’t see their little eyes. I get to worship in their native language with them every morning and watch them dance for our King. I get to eat delicious thai food with my new nanny friends who love me so well. I get to ride my bike to work every afternoon knowing that I get to go serve my God who created and has not abandoned these beautiful kids. I honestly can’t think of a better way I would want to spend my time on this earth.
So yes, some days I get back to my apartment and wish I was in my bed at home clean, comfortable, full of my mamas cooking instead of my instant noodles, but then I remember this quote I have on my bathroom wall back home, “why should we be unwilling to part with a few fleeting comforts for the sake of making them shares with us in joys as durable as eternity?” If Agape Home hadn’t been started these kids would be abandoned on the streets or in government facilities where they would probably never hear the name Jesus. So how could I possibly let things such as my comfy bed, my clothes, a nice home, homemade food or even my family who I love more than anything, keep me from being here to be apart of the Lord’s mission in Thailand that he has called me to?
I challenge you to look at your life and find those comforts that are holding you back from fulfilling what the Lord has called you into. Look past whatever your snotty noses and tired feet are in your life and let the Lord open your eyes to all the good because it’s there and it’s beautiful even if it seems a little hidden some days.
