Sometimes, God may send us to do some pretty uncomfortable stuff. Take Guatemala for example…
1. Heat and humidity totaling about 115 degrees each day. 2. Zero air conditioning and limited fans. 3. Corn flakes for breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY. 4. Rice, beans, chicken, and tortillas for every other meal. 5. “DON’T USE THE WATER!” 6. Getting frogs stuck in your hair (thanks, Kat). 7. Getting sick every week from the influx of bacteria that surrounds us. 8. Never being alone. Ever. (Sorry, introverts) 9. Brain-aches from translating every thought into Spanish. 10. Giving “constructive feedback” to peers every night. 11. Wifi that works 50% of the time. 12. Weird bug bites that you’re not 100% sure are actually from bugs. 13. Cold, infrequent showers. 14. Piling 25 people into one windowless van every day (and did I mention how hot it is?). 15. Unable to flush toilet paper and having a puppy who proceeds to eat it out of the trash and poop all over the house. (Yes, I have accidentally stepped in her mess a few times now).
I could go on, but I think you get the gist of it. Every day as we work in the grime of Guatemala, we are surrounded by discomforts and health hazards that would never occur back home. My second day of the trip was pretty miserable. I spent the whole day running around a smelly city, despite my nauseating stomach ache and sweat that covered me from head to toe. By the end of the day, all I wanted was to hear the sweet voices of my family…but of course, the wifi didn’t work. So, I crawled into bed in my sauna of a bedroom (we didn’t have any fans at this time) and thought to myself, “what in the world am I doing here?” All I wanted was to be home.
Since then, The Lord has enlightened me with the true meaning of “home”. Home is not the house you grew up in, your nurturing family, the friends who make you laugh until you cry, memories cherished in the depths of your heart, or a big bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream (although I could REALLY go for some of that right now). In reality, “home” is not a worldly concept at all. Our Father is the God of all comfort and He calls us to find our home in him- no matter where we reside. From the grimiest hut in Africa to the most beautiful island mansion, Jesus stands with open arms, offering the most affectionate embrace. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 reads, “praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
When The Lord calls us to something, He will not let us suffer unceasingly. He will go with us hand-in-hand, comfort us, and equip us for each and every task. And guess what? Through this mission, The Lord brings us to completely new levels of intimacy and trust in Him. He brings us into a newer and greater reality of “home”- a home that we can carry with us always. As we seek after the call of The Lord, our home in Him will expand indefinitely. There is no limit! In the words of Heidi Baker, “I was created to live under the waters of the Holy Spirit. In fact, I feel as if I was born to be in the water. I matured in a way opposite that of a frog. At the beginning frogs start as tadpoles, swimming under the water, and growing up to live on land. I went in the other direction. I was like a frog, living on land, and then I became a tadpole. I changed from breathing the air of the world to needing the waters of the Spirit.”
So, as I progress through my journey in Guatemala, I will rejoice in my sufferings, because I know that suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope. Although I love my family more than anything in the world (and worry about them way more than the youngest child probably should) and would do anything to snuggle with my doggy on the cold kitchen floor, I truly am home here. I am diving deeper into the waters and finding comfort I have never felt before.
I guess sometimes you just have to lose your house to find your home.
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