Sometimes it can be hard to be joyful, it seems like I too
often find myself feeling discontent or frustrated with one thing or another in
my life, things that didn’t work out the way I planned, expectations I didn’t
meet, times I felt hurt. I feel like I am learning from the people here what it
really means to seek joy. This doesn’t mean just ignoring or not facing hardships
but it does mean choosing not to dwell on them but instead to find yourself consumed
by the joy that God has brought into your life. Today we encountered some
unexpected adventures; we had a slight delay in our plans when our van got
stuck on a dirt road in between two villages after a hard rainstorm. About
three hours later due to the assistance of many good Samaritans we made it out,
and although I am sure that staying overnight in our van in the middle of the
jungle would have been an adventure I have never been so grateful to return
safely home to Kasei. My friends here have been showing me lately that being
joyful depends more on how you choose to live out your life than on whatever
circumstance you find yourself in moment to moment. Today was definitely a trial in that but
honestly I know when I look back I will always see today as a precious memory,
not wasted time. God helped me find joy in today and in so many countless other
places already this summer. Today I was humbled by the selfless compassion of
the three men who came riding up on a motorbike and not only stopped to help us
but also stayed with us a couple of hours and recruited more help in order to make
sure we made it out. I was blessed by our conversations in a combination of Twi
and English and much shared laughter as these strangers willingly became coated
in dirt and mud helping us dig out our van.
I am in awe of the grace and joy shown to us by them despite the fact
that we had suddenly interrupted their lives and become such an inconvenience
to them. Even in places where we may be
tempted to let negativity, worry, or fear creep in we can instead let faith and
peace take its place, trusting that whatever may come, our God is still in control.
There is so much joy and life surrounding me here in Ghana even amidst more
struggles and brokenness than I have ever known. I find joy in sweaty little
hands holding onto mine even though I wish I had enough shoes for every pair of
bare feet caked in dirt and food to fill all the empty tummies, I find joy in playing
volleyball at my friends home even when we lose the ball down the well, I find
joy in spending more and more time with them even though I am made aware of the
of the hardships they face every day, I find joy in sharing peoples lives with
them even as I am broken by the poverty that surrounds me, I find joy in
singing along in church even though I can’t understand the words, I find joy in
helping people feel better even if I have to stick them with needles, I find
joy in working in the hospital alongside the staff even though I wish I was
capable of doing so much more to help, I find joy in playing cards with some of
the patients at the ward in the hospital even though I know I will have to see some
of them tomorrow when I help out in surgery, and I find so much joy in the
friends I have made even though I know the life they lead is very different from
my own and that I cannot be sure after I leave when I may get the chance to see
them again. Some blessings here are obvious and easy to see like knocking down
a ripe papaya from the tree outside our house or making our friend Solomon his
first birthday card for his 25th birthday, others not quite so much
like having plenty of hydrocortisone cream to put on all of our bug bites or
being able to get an IV in on the first try. I am grateful for every moment
that I have been given here, both the difficult and the wonderful ones, and the
joy that I have found in them all. Romans 8, Philippians 4:4-13, Psalm 103
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