Choices…
At home my day is pretty much my choice from the time I get up until the time I go to bed. I choose when and what I want to eat. I choose if I want to hang out with friends or be by myself. I choose to get in my car and go wherever and whenever. I choose when I want to go to bed. I choose if I want to turn on the A/C or the lights. The list goes on. I am so spoiled. And I hardly realized it. This month is different. My day is decided for me. The power goes out randomly for hours at the time (funny enough as I typed this yesterday the power went out so I couldn't post this blog until now. haha) I am constantly surrounded by other people, and I have no choice in when or what I want to eat.
This months ministry in India is already showing me so much of how I feel entitled to have things my way. I didn't realize I felt this way until I no longer had these choices.
I saw an illustration several months ago at church of a woman holding a glass of water. Another lady came by and shook the arm that was holding the glass. Water spilled out. The point is that whatever is in your heart comes out when things are hard… when you get shaken. This month a 10×10 room divided by 6 people is what is "shaking" my arm. This month is a test of what choices I will make. So this month I can no longer choose when and what to eat or anything else, but I can choose to have a good attitude when I don't want to. I can choose to prefer the 5 other people on my team. I can choose to eat another plate of food out of love simply because they made it to bless me. I can choose not to freak out about my stuff being shuffled in with everyone else's. I have choices. Not the choices I want necessarily, but I have choices.
The Lord is calling me to a life of sacrifice and trust and my flesh wants to put up a fight.
Hebrews 12:11
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields teh preaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
