Stiff-necked...

This morning I woke up with a very stiff and sore neck. I had to wake up early to dig footings for the new church in Tabacal with a team from Kids Alive. They had not told me the team was coming until last week and I was not looking forward to working again with Kids Alive and now my neck hurt too. I have been thinking a lot about my distaste for Kids Alive and how to “love your enemies”Lk6:27-36. I have also been reading the Pentateuch where Israel grumbles or chooses to obey certain parts of the Law and not others. For these of God’s people who continue to do wrong in spite of their knowledge of right he calls them “stubborn” or “stiff-necked”. Almost immediately I saw the connection. My neck was a constant reminder throughout the day of my need to choose to obey all God requires and love the people of Kids Alive.

The people on the team focused on Doug (missionary with Kids Alive) for their questions about the design. This thoroughly frustrated me because the church in Tabacal has nothing to do with Kids Alive, It was MY project, but it was a personal pride issue in my heart. The truth of the matter was that he was a great help there and of course the people from the team brought their questions to him, they had been working with him all week and were used to asking him.

Following Christ requires my whole attention and commitment to all that he requires of me every day. I must take up my cross or I am not worthy to be his disciple. Lk9:23, 14:25-27

-Eric

Waters of Suffering...

At 3:50 I was told of a 4:00 meeting with my pastor in San Lucas. I rushed up there to find no one there and the pastor not answering his phone. I called the other attendee who told me the meeting was at 5:30 at another location. I arrived there and the meeting still did not start until about 6:30 and finished a little after 7pm. This is how Guatemala normally works but my only fear was that I now had to ride my morotcycle home in the dark, in the rain, on a road under construction. On my ride home I was genuinely scared (similarly to a previous ride home in the dark and rain) and I asked the Lord for help. No sooner than the words had left my mouth that I drove through a pot-hole which splashed me with cold water. A few moments later a truck splashed me and then a car next to me splashed me. I prayed out loud again frustrated with the Lord saying, “Lord… I need your HELP! Are you going to or not.” I was reminded of Luke 14:26 which says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother…even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” My mind was brought to my willingness to suffer while God asked me why I had gone up to San Lucas, waited and endured the meeting knowing this would probably be my fate. My answer was, “for you.” Then who are you suffering for? God! It hit me that I was given the privilege to suffer for God. Imagine if the scripture in Luke 14 said instead, “If anyone comes to me and is not willing to be splashed with water…cannot be my disciple.” Splashed with water! Tell me you wouldn’t laugh. Of course I am willing to be splashed with water…there are much worse things to suffer for His name and if I can suffer for Him just by being splashed with water, bring it on! Right at that moment the rain stopped and I was not splashed again the rest of my trip and to be honest when I arrived at home I was a little disappointed that there was no more rain or splashing that I could “endure” for Christ.

Many times I serve God expecting God to help me in return but when bad things happen right after my service my tendency is to complain to God “thanks for nothing” rather than rejoice in being able to suffer for God and accept it as a gift because trials produce…mature and complete Ja1:1,4 and because suffering produces…character and character, hope… Rom5:3-5 They are the road to my goal.

-Eric

When the littlest is the biggest…

These past 2 ½ weeks Heather has been back in the states visiting her dieing grandfather with three of the kids. Anzo and I have been home alone. During this difficult time for our family many people wished us well. Many people said they would be praying for us. Many people said many nice things to me during this time yet few did anything about it. During the 16 days, two people came over to visit. The fact that only two made time to check in on me struck me but not nearly as much as the positive impact that the visit of the two people did have on me. The people who invited me to stay for dinner, those who just asked about the situation and then remembered to ask followup questions later, those who prayed with me on the spot. I remember that there were not many but most importantly I remember how significant they were to making me feel supported and important. Had I had a serious need, I would have asked one of the few who had displayed, in action, they cared.

In reflecting on this experience I am confronted with the truth that most of the time it is the small things that mean the most and end up being the biggest. The small things like a hand written thank you note, a call for no reason other than to listen to how anothers life is progressing, “pick-me-up” flowers, visits or invites, it is these small expressions of care that are most often overlooked. Often I pass the opportunities thinking, “they really are nothing significant…I can pass it by” when in reality the truth is that most people do pass them by with the same thoughts and only the purposefully caring actually carry through with these kinds of actions. I think that if people understood better the impact of these small gestures they would be more likely to do them.

It is the great love that is behind the small actions that is felt. Even if there is great love, without the actions it remains unreceived and misunderstood. When people just said, “we’re praying for you…” (when I knew they probably weren’t) or other niceties, I understood this as wishing us well and being polite but really not wanting to be inconvenienced by anothers difficulties not sharing or bearing one anothers burdens. But it was those who took interest and ownership with actions that helped me with the load.

When there is someone who is hurting and I want to do something for them but I don’t know what, I can do one of these small actions for them rather than just wish them well. Small actions reveal that I am willing to help with bigger things if they should come. I must take the time to carry through with the “small” things that come to mind because when it comes to a person feeling valued, usually the littlest things are the biggest.

-Eric