Down the bumpy dirt road, past the trees and rocks, and behind a bobwire fence with a large metal gate is an orphanage made of cement bricks and red windows. On all sides of the property is tall corn stalks. There is a home made chicken coop and rabit cage. There are outdoor bathrooms with tile around the hole in the ground and four walls surrounding it with an open window in the back of it, but there are also two toilets inside with bright green doors and brown and white tiles on the floor. Inside this little orphanage lives two women they call Mamma and Aunt Pauline, and 17 kids. The baby has grown from 1 years old to 6 years old. There are multiple bunk beds in a room with bookshelves as dressers, and one huge table in the middle of the home where they all eat their food.
All of the kids walk 2 miles to school and back every day, coming home for lunch as well. The mamma and the aunt wash tons of clothes, cook three meals a day for 19 mouths, and change lots of bed sheets. There is electricity, but not always. There's a stove and running water. The water comes from a tank that catches the rain water on the side of their house. No rain, no water.
The mamma and aunt are strong women with lots of love. The kids all smile and laugh and run around with hugs for everyone. They take care of each other. They sing together. They praise the Lord together, because they have been rescued from the streets or from starvation or from abuse, and some even from death. Praise God for this home that will raise them to know the Lord.
Isn't it weird to think that there are people living in such a different way than us that we can't really fathom it? Not just different cultures, but having people die from the lack of basic needs? And yet God is there. He is evident.
I will never forget saying to a man in Kenya with all honesty and sincerity, "It makes us sad to see you all living in this condition. You don't have much and you struggle to get the basic of things. I wish I could help everybody here." He said to me, "We also feel sad for you because you have too much. You are constantly distracted with things like your cell phone and media and the tv and things to do. You have too much money to spend on food that makes you fat. You don't need to rely on the Lord because you think you have enough." Wow. What a totally different perspective! What truth! Some people in Kenya were so willing to cling to a God who can save them, whereas here there is so much "good" that they don't think God would save them, but make their life worse.
Knowing this is one thing. Living it out is another. On the trip to the beach a guy asked what we would grab if we could only grab three things if our house was on fire. I hated that question and didn't want to answer it. To think of all my books, clothes, electronics, and memories (journals, pictures, letters) all gone is a terrible thing. Does that make me "the rich" that the bible talks about? Maybe I don't hold on too tightly to posessions though... what about my time? I work, and then during my free time I read, watch tv, go places with friends, and do stuff on my computer. I serve some and mentor someone, but is it enough? Or am I wasting time making myself happy? Have I seen hungry people and fed them? Have I visited the sick? Have I reached out to those in need? Because that's Jesus that is sick and hungry and in need. He said so.
Do I bring Him glory in everything I do?
I hope so. And I hope that in my future I will bring Him even more glory with my marriage, with my career, with my kids, and with my retirement. But it doesn't start at any of those points, it is ongoing.
And why does God deserve all the glory, besides the fact that He made everything? We were made to worship. Everybody. Some people worship and idolize celebrities, entertainment, sports, electronics, other people, ourselves, etc. So instead of the glory going to something imperfect, it should go to the only thing that is perfect. God's the rock and all else is sinking sand.
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