The Life I Take for Granted

Growing up in middle class America, it’s hard for me to imagine a life any different than having reliable clean water, power, roof over my head, flushing toilets, soft carpets under my feet, warm air in winters & cool air in summers.

It’s easy to take all of those things for granted when you have always had them. You just assume that you always will have them. They become your comfort zone of security without even realizing it at times.

But then you lose air conditioning in your car in the middle of the hottest part of summer & you get a glimpse, just a glimpse, of what life is like for so many others on a day-to-day basis.

How spoiled I am that I don’t think it absolutely necessary to be praising God every moment for these things I so easily take for granted every day, for struggling to come up with something to be grateful for in the midst of the hardships of life–He has allowed me to have so much!

But What About That…?!

I think about the Israelites. They were SLAVES in Egypt & God came in & miraculously & awesomely displayed His glory, strength, & power (& LOVE) to rescue them out of that slavery that they cried out about so desperately for HOPE.

God came. He rescued them MIGHTILY (Exodus 6:6; book of Exodus). AND, He walked with them EVERY step, making His presence KNOWN to them very clearly & unmistakably with a pillar of fire by night & a pillar of cloud by day leading them all the way (Exodus 13:21-22). He supplied food every day. (Exodus 16) He gave them water, sometimes straight out of a rock miraculously if none was readily available where they were in the desert (Exodus 17:1-7; . He even made sure their shoes didn’t wear down & their clothes stayed intact through their seemingly endless trek through desert wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:5).

God PROVIDED.

And what did they do? They dreamed of a “better” life back in Egypt—as SLAVES.

In other words, they focused SO intently on what they DIDN’T have, that they could no longer even see, care about, or appreciate ALL they DID have.

Isn’t that me? God provides SO MUCH & all I can think of is… “but what about THAT?!” Shame on me. Shame on me. It’s so human of me, but it doesn’t make it right.

The Year of Many Withouts

This past year has been the year of many WITHOUTS.

When God asked us to uproot our lives to move back to Guam last summer, it was not an easy act of obedience for me.

Moving back to Guam meant leaving behind the best place/situation we had lived in since moving overseas. It meant being without the comfort of church family that felt truly like family, of the adventure of living in Japan (but with the comforts of an American base nearby), of healing from the hurts of my past 7 years of intense stress & isolation.

Easy pet flights no longer existed to Guam from Japan after covid. We were riding on a technicality, unsure until we arrived in Hawaii whether or not our cat’s transport would even truly be approved once we got there. We were on our way, everything riding on a CHANCE, without any assurances ahead of time to count on.

The Withouts Didn’t Stop

Then we got here & it was a seller’s market for a home & our budget couldn’t compete. We went about 3 months without a home of our own, living out of a suitcase.

Then we switched to a temporary living situation where it was covered in mold & had no hot water. So, we lived without clean air for almost 2 months & had to shower with cold water.

When we finally moved into our house, it was a flip undone, so we lived without internet for a while until the wiring was set up. We lived without an oven for about a month until we could switch the outlet. We lived without being able to wash our clothes at home for months until we could get an electrician to fix things for that to work, too. We lived without ready-to-live-in comfort & were met instead with project upon project.

And Then… A Super Typhoon Hits Us on Wednesday, May 24, 2023

And now, a typhoon has pretty much devastated our island. And we’ve been without power (A/C, lights, refrigerator, washing machine/dryer, oven, ability to charge anything, relief from heat, cool water to refresh, etc.) or running water (flushable toilets (without added water), showers, ability to wash anything, etc.) in our home. We’re without readily accessible gasoline (I waited in line for 2+ hours & now the lines are worse). We’re without a way to even leave the island. We’re without assurances of when life will resume any semblance of normalcy.

All of the lush, beautiful jungle plants are bare or stripped & tossed ways away.

They Had to Rely on God to Provide… And So Do We

And you know what? It is SO EASY to think like the Israelites.

They couldn’t go shop for what they needed because there was nowhere to go out in the wilderness. They had to rely on God to provide.

They couldn’t just go out for some food or water because they were out in the wilderness. They had to rely on God to provide.

They couldn’t protect themselves against the Egyptians who chased them down. They had to rely on God to provide.

They couldn’t rely on comforts because they had so few of them. They had to rely on God to provide.

And it’s uncomfortable. It’s hard. It’s NOT FUN.

But God does provide.

God Doesn’t Always Provide How We Want, But He Knows What We NEED–HIM

God does provide.

Maybe not with giving me the hot water I want… but in teaching me how to work around it or adjust to it. (I, who ONLY hot showered, grew to surprisingly appreciate cold showers through time that because of how refreshing it was—the initial cold jolt is uncomfortable, but then it just feels invigorating & rejuvenating.)

Maybe not in giving me a mold-free home… but in protecting me through it.

Maybe not in providing a ready-to-live-in home… but in teaching me to take stewardship of our home more to heart, seeing the sweat & tears we ourselves put into it over the years & looking back seeing all God helped us accomplish through it.

Maybe not in giving US power & running water, but in giving our friend power instead, using our lack to encourage us to go stay with her, so we could share & encourage each other through a very dark time when we would otherwise be going through the aftermath separately on our own.

God doesn’t always provide how I want Him to. And that’s a good thing.

Every decision He makes, in His all-seeing, all-knowing WISDOM is ALWAYS for our good AND His glory.

ALWAYS.

A False Security Versus Trusting God

I was blown away, after years of hearing sermons about the hardships the Israelites went through, how God led & protected, & all their endless grumbling & complaining… to learn of this little verse: “Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.” (Deuteronomy 29:5)

I mean, they never had to worry about how to provide their family with clothes or shoes or food or water because God just PROVIDED for them. But they still grumbled CONSTANTLY. They wanted to feel the “security” of being able to “provide for themselves” aka the ILLUSION that any of it is really from themselves in the first place.

When God allows things to be taken away… He also erases the illusion that ANY of it is of ourselves rather than it all really being from HIM.

When God allows things to be taken away… He also shows you He is MORE THAN SUFFICIENT even in your greatest WITHOUTS.

Trusting God Isn’t Easy, But It Is Always Worth It

It doesn’t mean it will be easy. It doesn’t mean it will be comfortable.

But it does mean He will provide if we trust Him to handle it rather than trying to take over or just plain give up without giving Him the chance.

It may not be in the hot water, but that you HAVE water.

It may not be in the power, but in the friendship connections going without encourages.

It may not be in things working out smoothly, but in seeing that God can make anything happen regardless.

It may not be in the material comforts, but that HE IS OUR COMFORT.

God Had a Plan in a Disaster We Didn’t Even See Coming

Going through this typhoon was hard. It was really, REALLY hard.

God protected us. He led us to this house & confirmed this house for us—despite our not understanding WHY—and because we were trusting HIM over ourselves on where to live… & He knew this typhoon was coming… how bad it would be… & that this house would stand.

God PROTECTED us because we trusted HIS lead in where to live, even when it made no sense to us.

How ungrateful & unwise I am to ever question our GREAT GOD.

Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Thank You, God, for making a way for us to come to Guam WITH CISCO when there seemed to be no way. Thank You for just plowing us through when we couldn’t have any assurances. Thank You for knowing I needed to come back here, to see how you could grow something that hurt me to something that heals me… to let me see how nothing is beyond Your reach to grow & mature. Thank You for a second chance. Thank You that You know what You’re doing & You determine to do it for my good & for Your glory, even when I protest, doubt, & complain… because You love me enough to determine to keep moving me forward to the goodness I don’t see on the other side of it. Thank You that I can trust You even when I’m not sure I know how. Thank You that You always provide for my best, even when it doesn’t always look like it to me in the moment. Thank You for protecting us & our home & Cisco & our friends in this great storm that devastated so much here. Thank You that You heard our cries to You & lessened the winds from CAT-5 180mph to CAT-4 140mph winds just as it passed over Guam & then back to CAT-5 as it left. You PROTECTED us! Thank You! Thank You for reminding me, sometimes even against my will, to PRAISE You in all of this aftermath & the trauma. Sometimes I thought I would go literally crazy in the oppressive heat & I BEGGED for the power to come back on & You didn’t do it… but You brought us to a friend who could share not only in that, but in the reprieve of living through the trauma of uncertainties & destruction in the aftermath with a friend. Thank You that You are so greatly to be praised. Thank You for pushing me to praise You so my heart could let go & fall into Your arms of rest & comfort versus tension & panic. Thank You for reminding me that You got so mad at the Israelites all those years in the wilderness NOT because they kept struggling through all the hardships, but because they complained & grumbled RATHER THAN trusting they could come to You with their struggles & trust You to help them through it. Thank You for reminding me to turn my angst, worry, hurt, stress, etc. to prayer, crying out to You as my help IN IT. Not giving up or giving in to despair, but trusting You can be my supply despite the odds or likelihood because YOU ARE GOD. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Shine Hope by determining to keep crying out to God in your need, even when no relief seems even possible… & by determining to PRAISE Him even when the world looks like it is falling apart all around you. PRAISE HIM.

God Is Deserving of My Trust!

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2)

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him,
    and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) (“The grass is always greener on the side you’re watering.” -author unknown) There will always be good & there will always be hard… which will you let control your thoughts?

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His loved endures forever.” (Psalm 118–all of it is so good!)

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:3-5)

Last Note on Trauma…

Living through one of Guam’s top 2 worst typhoons, despite our house surviving, really left me shell-shocked. If I am at my house & the sun is going down & I can’t find my phone, I actually feel real panic because it’s sometimes my only light source because my house has gone 6 days without power now & it’s also my only connection to family & friends when the world goes dark at night. When my battery gets low, I feel a strong need to search a power source soon. When it gets hot & humid, I get flashbacks to feeling trapped in our oven of a house with no relief because no cool water to drink or breeze or shower or anything. When my gas ticks lower, I remember that 2+ hour line & feel desperate to conserve or refill.

It is strange how much a natural disaster kicks in your fight or flight survival instincts even when things are getting safer again. It’s trauma. It logically doesn’t make any sense & yet it is.

Be patient & gracious & prayerful with people who have gone through a natural disaster. It’s no joke. Some moments I feel rays of hope shining in me & the next moment I am choking down a sob or fear just smacks me in the face because of a memory or a trigger from the actual storm or thinking about the devastating aftermath that hits me out of nowhere.

Even if they’re technically “okay” again, they may not be okay… & that is okay. Give them space to feel safe again & for the trauma to heal. Consider how economic crashes where food rations were very real then cause whole generations to be strict about not throwing out food EVER. It takes a toll on you going through something devastating like that & that’s just how it is sometimes.

Give space for healing & give grace—even if it doesn’t make any sense to you because you know they’re okay NOW—it may not make sense to them either & yet it is. Give grace & pray for healing.

It’s okay to not be okay. Cry out to God as your help & determine to praise Him no matter what.

Coming Next Week

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Block Print Tote (India)

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