The little things...

Well, it’s been 2 months since our feet landed in Uganda. It is truly amazing how quickly the time passes. Looking back, I can hardly believe how much our lives have changed in that time period, and how many different opportunities we’ve had to stretch ourselves and grow. Even with all of those opportunities, however, I still have to pinch myself sometimes to realize that yes, we are in fact living in Africa.

The one thing that’s always amazed me as we’ve picked up our family and moved to different locations around the world is that no matter where I am, I am still me. Profound, huh? I think in our American culture of films and entertainment (for those of you who live in America), we’re often sold the idea that if we could just somehow go somewhere else, we ourselves would be different, feel different, and behave differently. My experience is that this is just not true.

Perhaps for a time, the different location can change us and bring out parts of us we didn’t know where there, but this seems to be temporary. Before long, you find yourself back to square 1, with all the same struggles and issues you had in your previous life! You can’t run from yourself!

What this particular trip has been very good for is placing me in fairly unpredictable (and sometimes very stressful) situations which expose parts of my heart where I’m not fully trusting God or fully relying on Him. I’m reminded of the Bible verses where it talks about how a person can give up all that they have (including their life), but if they don’t have love, it’s worth nothing. Even after all we’ve been through as a family over the last year, I keep coming back to the basic principles of loving my wife, being patient with my kids, and spending time alone with Jesus every day. If these things aren’t right, nothing else matters.

This past week has been yet another reminder that things don’t typically go as planned here. Fluctuations in our electricity fried several of our appliances, including our fridge. It turns out that you really need what’s called a Voltage Stabilizer here to “smooth out” the wild power fluctuations and avoid damage to the appliances. Lesson learned. So, we now have a new fridge and stabilizers for our appliances. Through it all, He’s teaching me to trust Him and He’s reminding me that I can’t do this on my own. I have to keep going back to the source. I need His love in my heart to know how to not only deal with all of these situations, but how to excel in them.

Never underestimate the value in doing the “small” things well. You don’t have to be living in Africa to put your wife (or husband) and children first or to set your own needs or desires aside for someone elses. I know God honors those actions no matter where in the world we are and if we’re faithful in the “little” things, He’ll use us for truly great things.

-Danny