In the last 24 hours, someone is trying to tell me something! I listened to a WFC church sermon on flip talk, and how we need to change our attitude and speech to be positive. We need to stop focusing on the negative and look on the bright side. I then turned to my daily devotional to find the lesson on “grumbling.” God reminds us in 1 Corinthians 16:9-12 of all his great works and the many things he does for us that we should marvel at. Why let our hearts and mouths spew negative degrading feelings and words, when we have such an amazing God who showers us with blessings?
The same message put before me twice in one day. I wonder if God is trying to teach me something. Am I being too negative? Am I forgetting to find the good in each day, to find the God in each day? My mother could probably attest for the fact that I have. Being so close, she is the one I call to rattle off my list of complaints! The ants have found my snacks yet again..they are giving me too much food.. someone broke the football..I miss my friends and family! How often do I discuss what God is doing around and through me? With my current attitude, it is no wonder I can continue to find fault in the people and happenings around me.
Don’t get me wrong… I love India. I love the children here and I am happy with the work in which I am involved. But, I have just been forgetting to focus on those things. God is doing wonderful things here in India. There are still great needs everywhere, but every day I hear a success story and about another life He has changed. I should be rejoicing in even the smallest successes here and use it to inspire my work further. I will not be in India forever. I have a limited time here to make a difference. Even the tiniest impact on one life or one event is worth working towards and giving my focus.
God is also doing wonderful things within me on a daily basis here. I have so much time away from the distractions of American life for introspection and Bible study. In the silences, he is teaching me to work on my own heart. I have learned new things from passages I have read a dozen times in the past. I should look to these things in order to find contentment. These things should bring me peace and joy. The little troubles that bring me to complain are petty and most likely the works of Satan to bring me down.
I may have ants, but so does every home in India. On the bright side, hundreds of them barely put a noticeable dent in my snacks. They may give me way more food than I will ever have the desire to eat, but at least I have people here who love me and care enough about me to make sure I am fed. How many people in this world are starving each day? The children may be mischievous at times, but they are still kids. I would expect no different from my students in America. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to share a little love and attention with them that they may otherwise be lacking in a home of over 500 children. I do miss my friends and family. Fortunately, they are all in good health and I have the technologies necessary to keep in contact with them. They will be home when I return this December and I can delight in seeing them again. Even more, I have learned to value those who are most important in my life. Time away from the ones I love has reminded me of how much I need and appreciate them. I can thank God every day that he has put such amazing people in my life.
More than anything, I can also take comfort in the fact that no matter where I go in life, I am not alone. God is with me. He will comfort. He will defend. He will provide.
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