When
was the last time you gave thanks to God? Well, it’s not easy to thank God for the
things we do not like …
Let
me share: In Cuba, we woke up every day at 6 am, sometimes ate breakfast,
sometimes not… we
took a bath, with cologne! Cologne? For what? When we arrived to pick up the other missionaries, the
only fragrance we had was the smoke of the truck that took us, and our combined body
odor. Yuk! But
hey, it was normal for them. So we used some old cologne and opened the
windows to let in fresh air. From 6am to
2pm we spent walking, visiting the church, and sharing with non-believers the word of
God. We had to take time to eat … so whose ever
house we showed up to around 2:00 would serve us lunch!
was the last time you gave thanks to God? Well, it’s not easy to thank God for the
things we do not like …
Letme share: In Cuba, we woke up every day at 6 am, sometimes ate breakfast,
sometimes not… we
took a bath, with cologne! Cologne? For what? When we arrived to pick up the other missionaries, the
only fragrance we had was the smoke of the truck that took us, and our combined body
odor. Yuk! But
hey, it was normal for them. So we used some old cologne and opened the
windows to let in fresh air. From 6am to
2pm we spent walking, visiting the church, and sharing with non-believers the word of
God. We had to take time to eat … so whose ever
house we showed up to around 2:00 would serve us lunch!
First day black beans and avocado with white rice, and some fried plantains. Second day the same, the third day the same, the fourth day the same thing…and so on. But the problem was not black beans and rice, the problem was me. I did not like the food. I was not being grateful to God for what was giving me! I went nearly a week without lunch because I did not like. But what hurt me most was every time we went to eat, the brothers would sing this song: “For Health and Food we thank you Lord!”… and I do not consider what it was like for them. Although I felt bad for me, I felt good for them even with so little to eat, a meal that does not change, they were grateful to the Lord! One day someone prepared a special meal for us: black beans, white rice, fried plantain, avocado and pork. Everything was covered with flies because they do not have enough money to buy detergent to clean… (I do not like flies or pork) it seems this wasn’t my day. Like every other day, they began to sing that song again. I got up from my chair, went outside, and cried. And I asked the Lord to help me to eat…at last I could eat a little bit, but seeing the joy they had made me glad! Whenever we got to the hostel where we stayed, Marisol and Patria (two of our teammates) cooked for the rest of our team. I gave them a hug and said thanks for the food and gave thanks to God.
But why do we just thank the Lord for good things?
Maybe when things go wrong, we ask the Lord to help us. But often we are not grateful in hard situations. Many times those are the moments that teach us to appreciate what we have and give thanks to the Lord in everything!
Now, every time I enjoy something I like, I remember those moments and say “Thank you Lord” because there are many people who do not have anything to at all…
