Committed: Complainer vs Quietly Taking Care of Business

October 5, 2016

When we commit all to God, what does He require of us? 

Things don’t always go how we expect and we don’t always get things our way.  We make commitments, but when things get too hard, what do we do?  The children of Israel complained all the way from Egypt to the Promised Land.  God fed them, gave them water, and protected them on their journey, but so many of the followers wanted more.

It is so human to want more and not be satisfied with what we have.  Just like God was there for the Children of Israel, he is there for us.  He wants to mold us into the best we can be. 

I just finished reading “In Every Place” by Kim L. Abernethy.  She was honest with her personal battles as she served God in Africa with her husband and children.  When her living conditions were at the worst possible, she found God working and souls won for the Kingdom.  As I read about the living conditions, I thought of the missionaries supported by my church.  I realize that they don’t tell us everything.  Currently, Paula, a missionary in Africa, sends weekly emails of her week.  I can see her enduring the heat, shopping for supplies, dealing with the post office, learning another language, and building relationships with neighbors.  Surely, she does not tell us everything.  How many hours does she have electricity, does the bathroom function, or does she have much privacy?  Missionaries have their personal battles and temptations just like everyone else.  Through those personal battles of discomfort, God is still using them for his purpose.

Here we sit in a modern country with all the benefits of technology and modern homes.  We complain like the children of Israel over and over and over with whining and complaining.

October 15, 2016

When I wrote the above words on 5 October, I did not know that we would be without electricity for close to a week.  Hurricane Matthew came on the anniversary of South Carolina’s first anniversary of “The One Thousand Year Flood.”  On October 7, the rains started moving across the eastern coast.  We prepared and prayed.  Then, on Saturday morning, we watched and waited.  It rained and stopped.  Then, around 12:30 PM as I finished preparing lunch for Mark and me, the strong winds came and we lost electricity.  I have a grill and flashlights, and I was not worried.  I knew things were going to be fine as I lived through Hurricane Hugo and Hurricane Katrina (I lived in Mississippi from 2002 to 2006.).

Saturday night and Sunday was like a camp out with a few of the grandchildren.  Reality did come on Monday as I looked at the trees down in my yard.  I felt like I needed the large oak in my back driveway moved, so I called to borrow a chainsaw.  I’m very independent, and the next action would have been to buy a chainsaw.  My brother came over and he felt safer cutting the tree.  I moved limbs and picked up some good firewood as he cut for four hours.  Didn’t I say it was a big oak tree lying across my back driveway?  The other trees can wait.  My yard looks like a war zone, but we are safe and no damage.  So many others are without more than I.   I returned to work on Tuesday, and we worked with generator power.   It was slow, but with the ports closed the slow pace didn’t hurt.  Since we were still without lights on Tuesday morning, my son started looking for a generator.  It is hard with four children under seven.  He found a generator on Craig’s List and drove to Myrtle Beach to pick it up.  When I arrived home Tuesday night, the generator was set up at my house.  Disasters are times when families and neighbors come together to help each other.  Thursday morning, my son’s home had power, so they moved back home.  With lights coming back on, everyone was celebrating to have lights and technology back.

Since I had a scheduled meeting with the executive committee of the ECWMS Thursday night through Saturday at North Myrtle Beach, I looked forward to a few days with warm water, electricity, and great company.  I’m never disappointed when I’m with the faithful workers of the ECWMS.  Meals were great, we accomplished a lot in our meetings and workshop, and I left on Saturday lifted up.

On the drive to Myrtle Beach, I saw many houses flooded, many houses with trees through the roofs, and water rising in yards and driveways.  Many lost much while I was only inconvenienced a little for a few days.  Do we complain?

I try to keep a positive view in all situations.  I said “try” because I am not perfect and I pray a lot for God’s help.  However, there is the lady at work that had same inconvenience as the rest of us, but she constantly complained.  The manager told her to go home.  Believe me, we enjoyed the quiet.  One co-worker lost much, new home has tree through roof, old home he planned to move out of has flooded basement, and his mother’s home has two trees in house.  Yes, when a forty year old pecan tree falls on a house, it crashes through the roof into the house.  He did no complaining.  While taking care of his home, mother, and family, he kept up with work.   People are so different.  The complainer and the wonderful young trooper who keeps going shows the difference of a person who knows life isn’t just about his problems and one who can’t see life beyond her short nose.  I wonder if Moses ever thought to send the complaining Israelites back to Egypt.  No, he stayed positive and faithfully prayed to God for forgiveness of their sins and for their needs to be met. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we were all like Moses and the young man who lost so much but kept on going with no complaints?