Today is one of those days…I stayed up late last night to watch the Cavaliers/Pistons game…just to see the Cavaliers lose. I woke up this morning and my tonsils were like golf balls. Coughing. Sneezing…just not feeling good at all…When we woke up the sun was out and it looked like it was actually going to be a nice ’spring’ day in Paris. Ten minutes later it started raining…then thunder…then more rain…and now it’s sunny out again, but with a strong chance of more rain later I’m sure.
I felt like taking a nice hot shower. So I got into our ‘bathtub’. I really felt like taking a bath, but our bathtub is a mockery to all bathtubs and the idea of actually being submerged in this this is a joke (see pictures below). As I was sitting there (yes, sitting…it has a seat which I have come to actually enjoy) I was thinking, “I hate this shower…I will attempt to take a bath.” So I plugged up the bottom and as the water rose around my ankles I was thinking of all the places I’d rather be: the driving range at Lincoln Hills (all you can hit balls for 10 dollars)…Peet’s coffee (amazing coffee accentuated by nice grey tile and tribal art)…driving down 65 with my sunroof open (unless it’s over 100 degrees..that would call for AC). It’s weird living cross culturally and going through this. There are things that I love here, but sometimes my memories of the past are all pictures taken in golden light…It’s not that I love things here less, it’s just that memories seem perfect.
I guess life can be like the weather is today…some minutes it’s beautiful out and the next it’s rainy and grey…rain in May when it’s nearly summer.
Our team has been meditating a little on James 1:2-5. Here is a patchwork of a couple of translations I like:
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. If you don’t have wisdom for what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.
Who would have thought that a miniscule shower would make us more mature?..I hope God does.
PS…This is actually the second time writing this post as the first time it got erased…fits into the theme of the day nicely, huh?
I understand days like that Justin. How much of an honor it is that God would invest in our lives for the purpose of growing our faith and character in Him! I love you guys, and I will continue praying for you as you go through days just like this one, or better!
Justin, loved this post to your blog…but then, I love most all your posts anyway.
When the size of a bathtub reflects the crammed condition of where we feel we are in our lives, it does give one room to ponder and wonder why God has called us in the way He has.
Looking at my (small) bathroom counter this morning, knowing that it is slightly (and only slightly) smaller than your tub helps me remember the different culture you and Jen are experiencing, and how the normality of life in the States is something you no longer experience, except from afar. If it’s any comfort, it’s been raining in Sacramento.
I love that you both are listening to His voice and trying to discern where He wants you and when. If it were up to me, (and it’s not) it would be in the general vicinity of Sacramento (or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest).
Selfishness aside…I am praying for you…that God will hedge you and bring you great joy, even in tough circumstances. Oh yea…James is a tough book when you don’t feel like being mature, tough, let alone joyful! You are both in my heart and prayers.