Our circumstances

The mother eagle teaches her little ones to fly by making their nest so uncomfortable that they are forced to leave it and commit themselves to the unknown world of air outside.  And just so does our God to us.

 Hannah Whitall Smith

Lately I have been thinking a lot how God uses our circumstances to teach us His lessons.

Compared to most people I work with, or just live with here in Tena, my circumstances are luxurious.

I have so many things that they lack. Or am able to do so many things they can only dream of.

Like walking, and talking and being independent.

So, do I have a right to be unhappy or need more? Is that justified in front of God?

Nick Wujicik, a pastor and motivational speaker with physical disability, said in one of his videos not to compare our suffering to other people's suffering.

I think that is a very wise concept.

In front of God, every pain is valid. He loves us all as we are.

And He seeks us to be better and rise above the circumstances, no matter what they are.

What I really love about this job is how I'm blessed with a spot to see how people rise above their circumstances.

Like the baby eagles, they soar throught the sky and I have been, even a small, part of it.

That is the biggest treasure for me.

I really do think, that many times, the best cure is not to think about myself but concentrate on others and how I can help them.

And again, something that Nick said, "Be the blessing to others".

About love of God and other people

It's so easy to see what's wrong with the other people.

So easy to correct them, pick at them, critize them. Just totally know how they would be so much better if they would just be like you.

Have hateful conversations in your head where you're yelling at them how they should THINK or what they should DO.

Sometimes the other people are really hideous or do really disgusting things.

Sometimes they are hard to be around, or they smell bad. Or they have really ugly, old, broken clothes.

They have snot on their face, poop on their hands, their teeth are orange and they want to be close to you and talk with you.

What if God asked you to show His love to these people. These hideous, smelly people around you.

The ugly, poor, broken down people that are just so un-cool that nobody cares about them or their rights. Even their right to exist, or to be loved and cared for. Their right to be people.

“I know now that true charity consists in bearing all our neighbors'defects--not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues.”
― Thérèse de Lisieux, Story of a Soul (l'Histoire d'une Ame): The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux

Proverbs 16:16 (NIV). How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend." --Martin Luther King, Jr.