Little Graces
TGIF! It's Friday morning and I can hardly believe that the first week of June is nearly complete. Exactly a year ago this week, I was attending Training Week at IJM Headquarters in Washington, DC and was awestruck (and star-struck) by the vibe that hovers around the brave and courageous. I remember returning home at the end of the week energized but also a bit depressed. It was a mountain-top experience of sorts, and I knew the upcoming weeks were going to be treacherous as our family packed up our Orange County life to go to Cebu. In 6 weeks, Megumi and I with three young children were on an airplane heading into the unknown. I could relate to the father of the epieptic boy who dared to stay to Jesus, in a single sentence - "I believe, Lord, but help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24).
What we have discovered through our journey nearly 11 months in is the certainty of all certainties - that God is so ridiculously faithful. Has there been doubt on our part - of course. I have come to learn that in the life of faith, doubt does closely follow on the heels of faith. "It is present because there is faith" says Brother Francois in this short writing "I Believe Help My Unbelief." But God honors movement towards him, even small steps as tiny as a mustard seed, just so He can prove his mightiness, the power that can make Mt. Everest, if he wanted to, crumble like sand. He has done this with my mountain-sized doubts.
My heart is so grateful, also, these days because because of his tender mercies or what I call "Little Graces." I enjoyed a great conversation with my IJM co-worker, Auntie Cathy, yesterday. She tragically lost her husband last December and through the journey of pain, she has come to realize what she also called the "little mercies" surrounding her husband's death - the way he swiftly passed, the deep love and compassion that she felt by others, etc. She repeatedly expressed how faithful God has been in her painful loss. What a gift she was sharing me.
This week, I experienced a series of "little graces" which are reminders from my Heavenly Father that He is mindful of me, even in the small details of life.
On Monday evening, after deciding that I wanted to save some money and not call my two regular taxi driver to come out to my worksite and get me, I walked to the nearby highway, trying to flag down a regular taxi going back into the city. After about 10 minutes of choking on jeepney fumes and with dark quickly approaching, a blue van with darkly tinted windows passed by -- and then stopped. It was one of our IJM vans and the driver, brother Leno offered to drive me home - of course for free. I was so happy to have saved 140 pesos (little less than $3).
A couple days ago, I'm getting ready for work, and started ironing my pants - one of the only five chino slacks I brought over here. And I'm looking at this thing, thinking - these things still look like new! I wear my clothes hard here, they go through washing and ironing, and all five slacks still look great. No big oil stains from dropped fried chicken, no holes, no loose stitching, no frayed edges at the hem in almost 300 plus days here. I was reminded of the children of Israel, whose clothing nor sandals wore out in 40 years of hiking (Deuteronomy 29:5). Yaweh performed many amazing miracles for them and in comparison to parting of the Red Sea, great looking flip-flops were seemingly insignificant. I shared this thought about my slacks with Megumi and she gave me a simple smile. I imagined that was also the expression of my Heavenly Father to me as I was praising him for protecting my pants.
And then yesterday, Megumi and the kids came to My Refuge House, this time to bake cookies with the girls. Megumi got all the ingredients prepared and on our way to the house, she remembered that she forgot baking sheets. I then texted the house to see if they had any, and I was told no. Staff then asked me if I needed the oven and that they would check if it was working. I had just assumed that since it was in the kitchen, it was functional. But the appliance had not been used in ages and I had failed to check before packing up the family. Frankly, I was a bit nervous and frustrated. The girls were excited about Auntie Megumi's baking class. When we arrived, it didn't look good. There was no gas hook-up. We even started to think how we could bake over the portable stove top. I also wondered if you could bake cookies in the outside sun. One of the house parents then reminded us to pray. And within 15 minutes, the stove was connected and lit. Megumi started the baking class with a prayer of thankfulness. And within an hour or so after a lot of measuring and stirring, and waiting, we enjoyed warm freshly baked chocolate cookies. As I was enjoying the treat, I just smilled at my Heavenly Father for the little mercy. On this day, cookies were a huge thing.
In Deuteronomy 29, Moses reminds the Israelites of all the "great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and amazing wonders" peformed by Yaweh. Then he talks about the little things - well-preserved clothes and sandals, and then adds the daily things - like food, that are all so easily taken for granted. He did all these things, Moses says - "so you would know that he is the Lord your God."
Moving mountains of doubt, free rides into the city, stain free slacks, and fresh baked cookies - this is the steadfast love of our Lord.
What we have discovered through our journey nearly 11 months in is the certainty of all certainties - that God is so ridiculously faithful. Has there been doubt on our part - of course. I have come to learn that in the life of faith, doubt does closely follow on the heels of faith. "It is present because there is faith" says Brother Francois in this short writing "I Believe Help My Unbelief." But God honors movement towards him, even small steps as tiny as a mustard seed, just so He can prove his mightiness, the power that can make Mt. Everest, if he wanted to, crumble like sand. He has done this with my mountain-sized doubts.
My heart is so grateful, also, these days because because of his tender mercies or what I call "Little Graces." I enjoyed a great conversation with my IJM co-worker, Auntie Cathy, yesterday. She tragically lost her husband last December and through the journey of pain, she has come to realize what she also called the "little mercies" surrounding her husband's death - the way he swiftly passed, the deep love and compassion that she felt by others, etc. She repeatedly expressed how faithful God has been in her painful loss. What a gift she was sharing me.
This week, I experienced a series of "little graces" which are reminders from my Heavenly Father that He is mindful of me, even in the small details of life.
On Monday evening, after deciding that I wanted to save some money and not call my two regular taxi driver to come out to my worksite and get me, I walked to the nearby highway, trying to flag down a regular taxi going back into the city. After about 10 minutes of choking on jeepney fumes and with dark quickly approaching, a blue van with darkly tinted windows passed by -- and then stopped. It was one of our IJM vans and the driver, brother Leno offered to drive me home - of course for free. I was so happy to have saved 140 pesos (little less than $3).
A couple days ago, I'm getting ready for work, and started ironing my pants - one of the only five chino slacks I brought over here. And I'm looking at this thing, thinking - these things still look like new! I wear my clothes hard here, they go through washing and ironing, and all five slacks still look great. No big oil stains from dropped fried chicken, no holes, no loose stitching, no frayed edges at the hem in almost 300 plus days here. I was reminded of the children of Israel, whose clothing nor sandals wore out in 40 years of hiking (Deuteronomy 29:5). Yaweh performed many amazing miracles for them and in comparison to parting of the Red Sea, great looking flip-flops were seemingly insignificant. I shared this thought about my slacks with Megumi and she gave me a simple smile. I imagined that was also the expression of my Heavenly Father to me as I was praising him for protecting my pants.
And then yesterday, Megumi and the kids came to My Refuge House, this time to bake cookies with the girls. Megumi got all the ingredients prepared and on our way to the house, she remembered that she forgot baking sheets. I then texted the house to see if they had any, and I was told no. Staff then asked me if I needed the oven and that they would check if it was working. I had just assumed that since it was in the kitchen, it was functional. But the appliance had not been used in ages and I had failed to check before packing up the family. Frankly, I was a bit nervous and frustrated. The girls were excited about Auntie Megumi's baking class. When we arrived, it didn't look good. There was no gas hook-up. We even started to think how we could bake over the portable stove top. I also wondered if you could bake cookies in the outside sun. One of the house parents then reminded us to pray. And within 15 minutes, the stove was connected and lit. Megumi started the baking class with a prayer of thankfulness. And within an hour or so after a lot of measuring and stirring, and waiting, we enjoyed warm freshly baked chocolate cookies. As I was enjoying the treat, I just smilled at my Heavenly Father for the little mercy. On this day, cookies were a huge thing.
In Deuteronomy 29, Moses reminds the Israelites of all the "great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and amazing wonders" peformed by Yaweh. Then he talks about the little things - well-preserved clothes and sandals, and then adds the daily things - like food, that are all so easily taken for granted. He did all these things, Moses says - "so you would know that he is the Lord your God."
Moving mountains of doubt, free rides into the city, stain free slacks, and fresh baked cookies - this is the steadfast love of our Lord.
posted by ERuss at
6:40 AM
3 Comments:
Can you tell Ate Megumi and your kids that I'm blessed by them today? Thanks!
Jessica
I am crying in my cubicle this morning. I feel like I'm there baking with them and I could just imagine the girls' faces. No obstacle will deter me today, Russ. Thank you always for extending God's love to us here.
Hi Jessica and Nannette, thank you for your words of encouragement. The baking class was just one of the many kind gestures that I get to see everyday at MRH. This is a house of love. Next class: homemade pizza.
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