Not the Most Exciting Blog Post!

          I’m not gonna lie to you, this isn’t the most exciting blog post, but I would love it if you would take the time to read!  This month had not been what I expected it to be. For the entirety of our time spent in Thailand, a large majority of our ministry has been spent doing different types of work projects for “Agape Home,” an orphanage for children infected by HIV. This has honestly been quite different for me than what I am used and was most definitely not what I was expecting to be doing during my time here, or at least in the magnitude that we have been doing. For whatever reason, the bulk of our work has called for me to be on my hands and knees for hours a day scrubbing a seemingly unending supply of tiled floor. Not the most exciting thing in the world, not the most fulfilling, not the most important, but exactly what I need to be doing.

          I’m not gonna lie to you, I kinda hate scrubbing floors. My knees feel like they are eighty years old. They are red, chapped, and hairless from the constant rubbing against the floor. Not to mention, the floor I’m scrubbing is outside where the weather has a “feels like temp” of 116 degrees. As I tiredly scrubbed that dirt-stained floor, I secretly thought to myself, “How much did it cost again for me to come and do this? Why did I ever think this was a good idea? Is this really worth it? Lord, when I said, ‘I will do anything for you, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.” I could almost hear the Lord laughing at me. It was then that I remembered the prayer that I have been consistently praying for over the last sixth months. “Lord, teach me humility. Not the false-humility that pretends to hate the praise of others, but is secretly addicted to it. No Lord, teach me how to walk in the humility that depends on the Lord in all circumstances, relying on nothing within myself. Teach me the humility that allowed Jesus to surrender his life completely to the will of his Father. Teach me the humility that Jesus showcased when he washed his disciples feet. Teach me the humility that is able to rejoice in the scrubbing of floors, even when it is the last thing I would want to be doing.” I smiled as I again realized that the Lord often answers our prayers in the most unexpected ways. I felt the presence of the Lord very strongly in that moment. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it was just one of those moments where the Lord’s presence was very tangible to me. Tears began to flow from my eyes as the Lord began to speak. Nothing is able to humble a person quite like the presence of the Lord does. The Lord then brought to mind Isaiah 57:15. “For thus says the one who is high and lifted up – who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, ‘I dwell in the high and holy places, but also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit. To revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” I could feel the Lord dwelling with me in that moment. As I leaned on my achy knees and felt the fresh sting of sweat dripping into my eyes, I found myself praying, “Lord I don’t ever want to leave this moment.”

          Again, I’m not gonna lie to you, but I’m kinda starting to enjoy scrubbing floors. Not because it is enjoyable. Not because it makes me feel important. Not because I think it’s the most worthwhile. Not because it’s the most exciting, but because I don’t want to trade any moment where I am able to experience more fully the gift of God’s grace in my life. Not just the grace that offers forgiveness for my sinfulness, but the grace that transforms my life. The grace that revives the spirit of the lowly and the heart of the contrite. I thank the Lord that I have been able to experience the Lord in intense moments of excitement, joy, and the tangible fruit of ministry; but today I thank the Lord that I have been able to experience the Lord in a little bit of pain, humility, and seemingly unfruitful work. These mundane moments of floor scrubbing have also allowed me the extended time to press into the Lord in prayer. Prayer for my team, the country of Thailand, the little kiddos I played with earlier in the morning, and the ministry whose floors I have been given the opportunity to scrub. These moments have served as a gentle reminder that fruitfulness can only come when we abide with the Lord. “To the one who abides in me, he it is that produces much fruit.” What if the Lord took me across the world, just for the fact that I would be given the opportunity to pray for these things? I believe there is the potential of more fruit in a single one of my prayers than in a lifetime of fruit I am able to produce in my work or ability. I want my life to give testimony to that.

          I’m not gonna lie to you, it hasn’t necessarily been the most “exciting” over here on this side of the world, but I can tell you that I wouldn’t trade it for anything!