My book has been discussing how a lack of joy comes from
spiritual blindness … The fact that we are surrounded by God’s glory and grace
in our everyday routines, but we totally miss it. We miss out on the joy, His
joy, of each moment. And the answer to this blindness is to “have eyes of faith
and lips of thanks.” We have to LOOK for the “beautiful in the ugly” and give
thanks for it. The author says: God is joy. Giving thanks is the way into joy
because thanksgiving is the way we enter into God.
The author gives personal testimony of how stopping in the
midst of stressful situations to find the “beauty” and give thanks for it has
radically changed her perspective on life.
This book has got me looking for the small things that I often times
totally overlook. Today, I was watching a few ducks and ducklings (is that what
the babies are called?) drink water from a mud puddle. At first I was like,
“that’s kind of nasty … they are drinking mud water.” But then I stopped and tried
to look for the beauty in the situation and my whole perspective changed. No
longer was I looking at WHAT the ducks were drinking, but I was watching HOW
they were drinking. And it is fascinating! I don’t have the words to describe
what it looked like, but it was unique and in its own way … beautiful.
And I know that the story of the ducks is random and may not
mean much to you, but this is what God is doing in my heart. He is beginning to
reveal to me (through my book, Scripture, and my surroundings) that there is
beauty and joy in everything. I just have to slow down, intentionally look for
it, and then give Him thanks for it. Joy has been a struggle for me for I don’t
know how long now … who knew that I would need to come to Gulu, Uganda to
discover some of the secrets to His joy?
Our time here is beginning to come to a close, we have less
than 2 weeks left. I’m not going to lie some days that decreasing number sounds
great, but then at other times that decreasing number makes me sad. Today is
one of those days that it makes me sad. I know that I have mentioned time and
time again how I am a secondary education major and that little kids exhaust me
… but I am going to miss them so much! My “teacher’s” desk sits in between a
table of all boys and a table of all girls. It is hysterical to see how the
phrase “boys will be boys and girls will be girls” runs true no matter where
you are! But I’m not going to lie; the boy’s table has stolen my heart. There
are two little boys that sit at the end of the table nearest to my chair and
they are precious. Reckless, wild, and loud … but they have sweet smiles that
would melt any heart of stone.
Shame plays a large role in the classroom management here in
Uganda. I’m not going to say that this approach is wrong because it has
obviously worked for many, many years. But I do struggle with it. Students are
getting praised for success and laughed at for failure. It hurts my heart for
these 4 year olds to not be getting high fives and thumbs up for their effort.
It is amazing how much difference that a little encouragement can make. When I
started in the class 2 weeks ago, one little boy didn’t write much and rarely
finished his assignments. And I have made sure that I go over and beyond in my
encouragement and praise of his effort for the past 2 weeks. Today (only 2
weeks later) he is finishing before most students and writing his letters as
perfectly as a 4 year old can. And he always comes to my desk to show me his
completed work. My favorite part of the day is probably watching his face light
up with joy when I give him a high five for the good job! I am going to miss
that smile.
While I am enjoying learning and observing the education
system here in Uganda, Mishana is still flourishing in the kitchen with the
catering students. It is pretty cool to hear about the conversations, the
laughter, and the memories that she is making every single evening before we go
to bed. It is apparent that God is working through her to reach out and love on
those girls. And like every situation, when good is happening and God is at
work … Satan is doing his best to destroy it. I won’t share too many personal
details, but the past two nights Satan has been attacking Mishana by filling
her mind with fear of her safety. Last night, she woke me up so that we could
have a time of prayer and she slept the entire night with her bedroom light on.
Satan has a lot of influence on Mishana’s thoughts as soon as it gets dark
outside … please begin and continue to pray for her. While this is very scary
and serious, Mishana is encouraged to know that she is making enough of a
difference here in Gulu for Christ that Satan is trying to get in the way.
And our
second prayer request is that we are exhausted. Please pray for energy and
awareness for the next 11 days!
No comments:
Post a Comment