By His Grace

Thank God I’m alive!

Well it’s been awhile since I blogged, mostly because I’ve been spending time on the 605 freeway. This quarter I have a class in Pasadena on Mondays and Wednesdays. So I end up driving the entire length of the 605 from Katella to the 210 twice a week. Here’s what I’ve learned from this experience:

1.   If I had to commute this drive everyday, I’d have road rage.

2.   I’m thankful for my Mom who willingly talks with me to keep me calm during the drive.

3.   The 605 is one of the most dangerous freeways with a serious or fatal accident during at lease one of my commutes per week.

4.   I’m looking forward to the end of the quarter and do not want to do this again anytime soon.

Last Wednesday there was an accident in the morning that backed up traffic until 4:30 in the afternoon. As I finally passed the two cars that were 100 yards apart, both smashed up and one imbedded in the hillside, I was struck by how unpredictable life is. We humans love to plan for every contingency, organize every waking moment, and ignore the inevitable. Every time I arrive back at the office after class, I thank God that I am still alive and that he has given me one more day on this earth to love and enjoy life. And for sure, commuting is not the best way to enjoy life!

Peace in rest

So often when most people (myself included) take vacation, it’s to do more stuff – run from this tourist sight to that tourist sight, this activity to that activity. But over the holiday break, Randy and I took a ‘do nothing’ vacation. On Christmas day we drove down to Mexico with Randy’s dad, Bob, and his wife, Francis. Rather than the typical tourist spot, we found ourselves in a pleasant town right in the middle of Mexico, where average families go about their lives.

Although Francis is a US citizen and has lived in Arizona for most of her life, her family is from Mexico. Last year she inherited the family home that is over 100 years old and has been spending time there restoring it. I’m not sure what I expected, but it’s in the middle of town on a main street. From the outside, it’s a wall with a three barred windows. When we pulled up, I was thinking “this is her hacienda?” But when I opened the door, I felt like I stepped into another world. The 14 foot ceiling of wood beams and polished bamboo is held up by three large arches with ornate columns. Beyond is a stone courtyard with fruit trees and potted plants. The house itself surrounds the courtyard and at the far end a passageway leads to another courtyard outside a second home they use for missions groups to rest on their travels.

For the next four days, we slept, ate, and rested. No rushing. No hurrying. No falling into bed at the end of the day exhausted. We took walks, read books, played dominos and cards, and enjoyed each other’s company. At first I felt a little guilty just hanging out. But God challenged me to think about rest as a crucial part of his plan for our lives. Although I love California with its change and movement, I certainly took pleasure in their rhythm of life. My hope for 2008 is to find peace in rest.

And we're back

Well, I’m back, but not 100%. I picked up a nasty cold on the way back from India, and it has sidelined me all week. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and found out it was the beginnings of Bronchitis! So now I’m on an inhaler that makes me feel like I’ve had WAY too much coffee. I had intended to post before today, but just kept putting it off in favor of sleeping. Today, although I’m still coughing I am more functional.

India – How to even start? The trip was both heartbreaking and inspiring.

Heartbreaking

To see the crushing poverty and pain many people live in is so hard. Because of the Hindu religion, millions of people suffer simply by virtue of what group they were born into. If you are born into a lower cast (there are 5, plus some people too low to even be in a cast), you must have done something wrong in a previous life to deserve being worthless. We visited one village of “rat catchers” who don’t even make eye contact because of the shame they have about who they are. The entire village survives by catching rats, selling them for about 3 rupees each (42 rupees = $1). They are literally starving and hopeless that life will ever change. It is heartbreaking. As Christians, we believe that God uniquely created each person and loves them, and it was an honor to bring them food “in Jesus name.”

Inspiring

Harvest India, the organization we went to work with, is doing incredible things. Here’s a short list of their many activities: orphanages, nursing schools for low cast girls, elderly homes, food distribution, medical clinics, outreach meetings, Bible colleges to train pastors, hospice center for those dying of AIDS, programs to get women out of prostitution, water wells for poor villages, VBS to introduce kids to Jesus…the list goes on. When they see a need, they respond and trust that God will provide. It challenged me to see how much faith they exercised each day. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors. Never have I seen that followed in a more tangible way than in the lives of the men and women who are loving the people of India. They are truly Christ followers.