African outfits

African outfits
Our crazy family

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Blessings Showered Down

December is here and I’m starting to freak out a little at how fast the time is going.  This morning I was taking a long shower, talking to God about all the things on my mind and trying to let go of my worries.  Ever since my children were small I have had a rule not to bug me in the shower unless the house is on fire.  I justify it because I have always been with my kids day and night.  Being in the shower is like a little retreat or personal spa treatment, it gives me time to renew my mind and be a better Mom.

 I was showering and praying about what to bring to Africa without over packing.  No small feat, because when we camp we pack for comfort.  I definitely struggle with over packing.   This will be much longer than any camping trip I have ever been on.  It's not fair to compare it with camping but that is the closest thing in my experiences.  We will have a house to live in so I certainly will have a comfortable place but it will be different. 

Right in the middle of my prayer, the thought came into my mind – How many people in the world don’t even have enough water to drink?  What would they think right now if they could see me standing here?  Besides the shock of seeing a naked, overweight, very white, 40 something woman- I wonder what would go through their mind?  I’m sure for some it would be something they could barely wrap their minds around.  They would probably think I had lost my mind wasting water like that.  If I wanted I could drink my shower water and not get sick.  Here I am with gallons of water washing over me and down the drain, while people all over the world are dying from disease caused by  infected water.   It’s not like I can bottle up the water going down my drain and make any kind of difference, but do I really understand what an amazing blessing it is not to worry about water?

We may or may not have access to showers on a daily basis while in Africa, but at least our showers will need to be much shorter than we enjoy here.  I read one story of a short term missions team that was in Africa for 2 weeks in a village that had a shortage of water.  They had rationed out water for the team to drink but one lady was using the filtered water to wash her hair.  All I could think was – Please Lord, help me not to be so culturally insensitive that I do something so incredibly selfish.  I know that I am selfish through and through and  my eyes are going to be opened to that fact more and more while we are in Africa.  

Today I am thankful for my fresh water to drink, my toilet to flush, my hot shower, my sink with running water to wash my dishes.  I'm also thankful for the amazing blessing of getting to go without these things for even a short while and live like most of the world.  We live in a land of abundance, in a season of even more abundance.  God, show me how to be content, to let go of wanting more, to be satisfied with the blessings all around me big and small.  Help me to be satisfied in you alone.

1 comment: