PERCEPTION -vs- REALITY

I had a fleeting conversation with a beautifully spirited friend of mine last week about a very deep topic. I know that fleeting and deep are polar opposites, but we said just enough to tip-toe in the shallow edge, and then when I was alone with God later that night, he held my hand and walked with me into the deep end.

We spoke of how sometimes, we as Christians have perception and reality conflicts. We struggle, we doubt, we fear, we worry, but we don't share those emotions. The reality is, there are times when we know the Lord is with us, but...you can fill in that sentence yourself. I know my own struggles.

The way we allow others to perceive us, however, is usually very different from the reality. We know all of the right things to say and we say them, whether we feel them or not. "I know God is with me," "The Lord will not give me more than I can handle," This is a season and it shall pass, my strength is in the Lord." All great and true things to say, but when we say without feeling, God knows.

We seem to have this distorted view that we cannot display any doubt, fear, frustration to non-believers because then they would think we are hypocrites when we tell them that if they receive Jesus, He will comfort them during their time of need. We can't possibly show our fears to our brothers and sisters in Christ, because what if they think we are doubting the Lord? They would surely think something is wrong with us, because I am certain they never feel this way!

I have to chuckle even as I write this. Of course our brothers and sisters in Christ display these tendencies to fear, doubt, worry from time to time. God made us. He knows how we are. We inherently have these traits and the cause and effect of fear, doubt, worry, loneliness, or whatever you are feeling, is a tremendously beautiful thing. You see, when we experiences difficult times and feel these nauseating feelings, it is during those times which we cling to Him. We draw closer to Him. Then when the season is over, we find that the strength, comfort, and clarity that He gave to us could have never been found in another human, nor a distraction, nor anything on Earth.

He wants us to talk to Him about everything we feel, and He wants us to be in community with one another so that we can be lifted up in prayer to Him. He delights in us when we call on His name.

As for showing these "weaknesses" to non-believers; it proves we are human and not on a pedestal. How threatening must we seem when we display perfection. The beauty of grace is that when we fall, Jesus is standing right below us, just waiting to catch us. When we have our moments of doubt, it is not only ok, but right to share it with others and follow up with whatever lesson we learned from it and how the Lord brought us through it. Isn't that why we share our testimonies? Did God promise us that once we accepted Jesus, our lives would be perfect? NO!!!!!!! He did not! How sad and dull would we be if our life was not a continuous living testimony to not only what Christ did for us, but what He is doing for us?

I recently had a huge perception/reality conflict, and because of it, I suffered greatly both internally and externally. Lesson learned. Thank you God for continually allowing me to grow and learn. Even if I cannot see past myself sometimes, I know that I can be honest with and trust in those whom the Lord has trusted to place in my life, believer and non-believer alike. No matter what the outcome, His plan is far greater than my own.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES'?

I don't even know anybody with last name Jones, but even if I did, I wouldn't want to keep up with them.

I have a neighbor who always has to have the newest and best...everything. Even if we weren't facing economic meltdown right now, and could keep up with them, I would choose not to. I prefer to keep up with the Duncan's, or the Howell's, or the Sanson's, or the Chapek's. If you don't know any of these family's, I am certain you know someone like them. Why are they worthy of being kept up with? Because they keep up with God.

Though they are all very different, there is one common denominator that binds them; The Lord is at the epicenter of their family. He is invited into every aspect of their lives and it shows. So, are they perfect then? No they aren't, and they will be the first to admit that fact, which only adds to their grace.

Their marriages, strong and holy, are a force to be reckoned with. They give, "What God has brought together, let no man put asunder," a whole new meaning. The bond they share is incredible and such a powerful testimony to true biblical marriage.

Their children (all of them) are being raised to love the Lord and to uphold the truth in God's Word. They all have differing parenting styles, but when the foundation is the Lord, the parenting is blessed. Their children are incredible disciples and behave in a manner with which any parent would be pleased.

They are mentors, even when they don't realize they are mentoring. It comes so naturally to them because they lead by example. If one of these couples says, "I will pray for you," then you can count on that prayer. Matter of fact, most times, they will just stop and pray for you on the spot.

Their friendships know no bounds and they are the kind of people you always want surrounding you. Even with a simple smile, gesture, or kind word, they never fail to make the most insignificant moment seem special. They are good friends, admirable couples, amazing parents, and most importantly lovers and followers of Christ.

While "stuff" is nice, it usually just gets in the way, collects dust, or needs to be replaced. What the Duncan's, the Howell's, the Sanson's and the Chapek's have is not accessible to moths and rust. They have a genuine gift that many do not possess. They have figured out that with Christ at the center of everything, the "stuff" just doesn't matter. I feel blessed to have so many great examples of what a Christ-filled marriage is; many more than I listed here. I am grateful to God for putting these wonderful people in my life.

So in the loving style of Miss Veruca Salt, "I want what they have Daddy, and I want it NOW!"



(no animals were harmed in the making of this blog and the blogger does not intend to insinuate in any way that someone with the surname "Jones" does not have Christ in their family.)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Anyone can be what they want to be. It takes courage, trust and faith to be what God wants us to be!

MY TRIP TO HONDURAS 3

Day 3: Saturday Morning - EMOTIONAL

Today I believe I experienced every emotion known to mankind. Our day started out by visiting another project with some older children. This project had been around longer than the first we had visited and seeing the difference Compassion has made in the lives of these children was amazing. We met a boy named Robert who prayed for us, our families, our trip and that we would be good stewards of Christ and come back to our country and have the right words to speak to our listeners about Compassion. This beautiful prayer came from the mouth of a 15 year old boy! He certainly is no only attending church and bible study, but deeply in love with the Lord and soaking up His word. He is destined to be a teacher or a pastor...I just know it. They were learning about Valentines Day and how God loves us unconditionally and they made us cards, which I will forever cherish.

Our trip leader has a friend who sponsors a little boy named Jason in Honduras. John had sent some special gifts for Jason and arranged for Jason and his mother to come and spend the day with us. Seeing Mark and Jason meeting brought tears to my eyes immediately. This little boy knew John. He knew details about him and had a relationship from across the world with him. He had made a card for him telling him how much he loves him and thanks him for sponsoring him. It was beautiful. We later found out that Jason's family had just lost their home to a fire and Jason's Dad had left his mom and 4 children. It was heart wrenching, but there was joy in this child's heart!

We took Jason and his mom out for ice cream, and Jason, who probably never gets treats like this ordered the biggest cone he possibly could.
But when Omar, a street vendor who was selling flowers on the streets of the big city at the age of 8 years old, came walking in and Jason saw him, he immediately gave up his ice cream to him. It was truly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Here is this little boy who has nothing. His house burnt down, his dad left but he sees this boy who is his age, all alone selling flowers in the streets and gives up his special treat for him. Praise God for little disciples! And praise Him also for the sponsors of these servant children being raise up for The Kingdom of God.

MY TRIP TO HONDURAS 2

Day 2: Friday - BLESSED

Today I was truly blessed to see God's hand and heart working in the most impoverished community I have ever seen. This village was built by people who came to the city looking for work and when they found none, they settled in an area surrounding a garbage dump. They scavenger through the garbage seeking anything which can be resold or recycled. Here in America we would call them "garbage pickers." But in this community, if you ask what they job is, they will tell you that they recycle plastics, or sell used books. They each have a very specific thing they are looking for to increase their "business." They are very proud and definitely don't enjoy what they do.

Before Compassion came into this area two years ago, the children where also spending their entire day at the dump site. They were covered with skin diseases and had parasites and were very ill. The parents had no idea that being in the dump was bad for their children. They were never educated on how to be a good parent and they are so poor they cannot afford medical attention, or schooling for their children much less for themselves. The parents not only didn't get married, but didn't know they were supposed to. Nobody had taught them about Jesus. It was a very untouched community.

Compassion partnered with the local church, House of Diamonds became the project name, because a missionary from the states felt God telling her that this area was filled with little unpolished diamonds and that through Him they would become polished. After Compassion came into the area, they urged the government to prohibit children going to the dump, which they did, the families were taught about the Lord and entire families were saved and so many marriages took place. The children were no longer facing the diseases they once did and the community is thriving more than ever.

This is Rosibel and her son Selvin. What a story. Her family was one who moved from the countryside with hopes of finding work, but ended up living and working in the garbage dump. Rosibel was 12 at the time and worked in the dump everyday for about 12 hours a day. She had Selvin at 15 and you can imagine how the vicious cycle of poverty and impurity and illness could have overtaken her and her child. But because of the love of Compassion, the church and Selvin's sponsor, Rosibel, now 21 has accepted Christ, married Selvin's father, took classes to become a teacher in the project and has a humble but exceptionally organized, neat, and tidy home. She is such an inspiration and great testament to what Christ is doing there in Honduras. God is moving in this House of Diamonds and polishing as He goes.

Just remember though, you cannot save a child's life simply by preventing him from dying. Providing food, water, education and medical attention is greatly needed, but Compassion International not only provides these things through your sponsorship, but is also introducing these families to the love of God and building a faith filled relationship with them, along with educating the parents. They are saving lives in every sense of the word.

MY TRIP TO HONDURAS

Day 1: Thursday - SURPRISED

We stepped out of the airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and I was shocked to see how Americanized they are. Every franchise you could possibly imagine. McDonalds, Chili's, Little Caesers, Quiznos, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts. They all had a home in Honduras. They even had a mega mall! My skeptical side rose up and I though, how bad could this place really be?

Our first stop was the Compassion Headquarters where we were warmly greeted by the office managers. It was so touching to see how they greeted each other with hugs and kisses on the cheek. They work together every day, yet seeing each other for the first time that day was like a gift. We could learn a lot from them. We soaked up every bit of information we could about the programs, how they were run, finances, everything.

Some of it was difficult for me to hear. Like when they told us of a sponsored child who was suddenly orphaned because the parents were gunned down by gangs while walking the child to school the prior morning. They had a praise/prayer list posted on the wall as we entered that had baby's born, marriages and a list of sponsored children who had passed on or lost a parent. We hadn't even met the children yet and already my heart was starting to weep for them.

We also met the teacher of the LDP (Learning Development Program) and some of the incoming students. Each year, approximately 20 students are chosen from a mass amount of kids nominated by their local pastor who have excelled in the 4 areas important in the Compassion growth plan. These students are not the best looking, or the wealthiest, or the best athletes. No, they have earned their place because of their hard work, dedication to volunteering in the church, love for the Lord, they care about their body and their health and they are good stewards. (and so much more)
These kids were the first taste of Compassion in Honduras we had and again I thought, they look just like a typical American classroom. Where's the poverty? Where's the need? It wasn't until the next day that I found my answers...and realized the big smiles on their faces were not there because they have an easy life, or an XBox, or a dream house. It was a sense of pride, vision and hope. It was coming far from where they were and seeing a future for the first time. It was encouraging.