A humble heart is a must. When you're going through the woes of culture shock it can seem like everyone is against you. We tend to take things too personally, and we begin to suspect people are our enemies. When you start to come out of some that fog and paranoia, you begin to realize just how patient people had to be with you. Of course some of that growth may come when you witness someone else dealing with what you've been through. You look around you, and you're just thankful anyone talks to you these days. We've been given much grace, and we need to give it away as well.
God puts people together. We've all heard that opposites attract, and we know that people have different spiritual gifts. But it's amazing how often we expect people to be just like us. As I watch Rusty maneuver life in Thailand and hear the way the teachers talk about him, I'm convinced that God brought us together. Sometimes I like to nag so Rusty will be more like me. Sad! God created Rusty, and He created me.We make a good team with each of us having a different talents and personalities.
God gives us beauty even during times of drought. This year we had the hottest dry season ever recorded; they've been recording for sixty years! Even in times of drought God gives us pretty things to look at. We have amazing blooming trees all over the place in a rainbow of colors. Whether your favorite color is yellow, pink, purple, red, or red there is something for everyone! It reminds me there is always something to be thankful for.
Finding common ground with non-theists is difficult but not impossible. I remember sitting in the teacher's office one afternoon after lunch watching all of the ladies reapplying their makeup, and I thought, "I have nothing in common with any of these ladies. I have no idea why God has me here.They're not even interested in what I have to offer them." It's amazing how at home I can feel in a Karen village, worshiping at a Karen church, and eating with Karen families when I understand absolutely nothing that is being said or sung. Yet when it comes to people I can communicate with there is what seems to be an impossible gulf between us. Yet I'm called to engage the culture and to find a way to bridge that gulf to the very people who are not interested in Jesus. We need more people to engage with those who are not interested in God and may even be hostile to the message.
Being thankful keeps you going through the hard times. I remember a certain night while listening to Lysa Terkeurst on a family show, I became overwhelmed at the thought that I couldn't think of anything God had done in the past year. Of course that wasn't anywhere close to what God had been doing, but it scared me with the realization of how ungrateful I had become. People could say to me that God wasn't working, and I couldn't do anything but be silent. You see, if we don't practice gratefulness every day, Satan will be able to use that to discourage us and to tempt us to quit. God is always working, and instead of just looking for big things, we need to be mindful of what He does consistently day by day. When Satan tries to speak lies to us, His praise will be what rolls off of our lips. We will see Him working through the mundane things of life.
God's Word is important. I'm not talking about a quick read of Proverbs in the morning and a quick read of a chapter at night. I'm talking about large chunks of God's Word. I'm talking about reading and not just listening to sermons. A first hand experience with the Bible is much more important and life-changing than a second-hand experience. People inspire, but God transforms. How can God transform us? It comes only by His Word through His Spirit. Without God's Word I would not have learned any of these other things I've been talking about. And without God's Word I would be spiritually empty, incapable of pouring out for anyone else.
Rusty asked me the other day what was the most important thing I felt I had learned here in the past ten years. That post is for another day, but I can tell you that no matter where I go in this life, I will never look at people in the same way.
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