One Day at a Time

If you ever get a chance, I encourage you to leave all the comforts you've acquired that you think you can't live without and live in God's hands for a while. Some people don't have to choose to do this - some people lose their comforts due to a natural disaster, financial disaster, or something like that. Choosing to leave everything rather than having it all stripped away is certainly much easier to deal with. But, no matter the case, living outside of our comfort zones can be surprisingly liberating.

I just read a book by Donald Miller called "Through Painted Deserts." It's funny that I read this now because a quote from the forward of this book is, "I want to repeat one word for you: Leave. Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed."

So, I didn't need this book to encourage me to leave, since I've already left. But, it certainly is encouraging on the days that I ask Mark, “What have we done?”

Anyway, it wasn't until I had finished the book that the title finally made sense to me - in the figurative sense. I, of course, have lived in the desert my whole life - literally. I have at times despised it - hating the dry heat, hating the lack of seasons, hating the brown, rocky, dusty landscape. But, there have also been times when I seem to look at the desert through different glasses and I suddenly notice its beauty. The rocky landscape becomes art. I notice the huge red and yellow flowers attached to the saguaros and prickly pear. I find the unusual plants to be exotic. I see a sunset or watch a thunderstorm from my window and understand that nowhere else would it be this magical. Not only do I notice the beauty, but I find that the desert has helped me appreciate things like water - rain, snow, rivers, oceans, swimming pools, irrigated lawns, puddles - more than I would if I lived somewhere else.

So, my point is, sometimes we find ourselves in a desert (figuratively) where life feels hot and dry. We are thirsty, sunburned, and long for something more. At these points in life, when we've left behind our comforts, there are 2 things that can happen if we put on the right pair of glasses and see the beauty within the rocky landscape: We realize we don't need many of those material things to be happy and we begin to appreciate what we do have much more.

When we moved into our house in Ereğli, it was empty and we had nothing but clothes and toys to fill it. We are on a tight budget, so it could be really easy to worry about money – which we do have our moments of worry. But, we’ve put our faith in God, allowed Him to hold us in His hands, and He has come through. Before we came here, I knew God would provide – but I also knew it would be a day at a time. There was a sermon at church about 3 weeks before we left that clarified this for me.

There is a story in the Bible about Elijah. Well, there are lots of stories about Elijah because he was a pretty cool guy. But, in this one he went to a woman in the middle of a drought – a woman who thought she was making her last meal for her and her son – and told her to put her trust in God and give away her last meal. She did and God came through for her – He miraculously provided her each day with the food she needed. God didn’t say, here’s enough food to last you the drought. He basically said, I’ll give you what you need one day at a time. This story hit me hard and gave me so much comfort because I knew God would do the same for us. We weren’t boarding the plane with all the money we would need for the year – but we’re trusting God will provide. And, guess what? He has.

Can you believe we bought all the appliances we need (washer, fridge, and oven) for under $200? I thought it was the appliances that would do us in…but God came through. After we’d been here a week, we had our appliances, mattresses, sheets, towels, plastic dishes, and cooking essentials. I told Mark the only thing I needed was a chair because sitting on the floor wasn’t doing it for me. So, we went to the store and bought 2 comfortable chairs for about $80 each (yes, we splurged). After Mark put them together and I sat in one for the first time, I knew I was living in luxury. I had everything I needed. When I think about all the junk I used to think I needed to be happy – now all I need to feel luxurious is a chair – I realize Donald Miller was right: I will come home a changed person.

God has provided more since then – including a free couch and good deals on things like a wardrobe and a dresser. Two days ago we were stressed about the fact that our bills are due, our rent is due, our residency permits are due (which are $1500), and Mark hasn’t gotten his work permit yet, which means no paychecks. Well, that evening a neighbor downstairs called and said he had 2 chairs he wanted to give us. I was expecting nasty, thrashed, thrift store looking chairs, but they are super clean, relatively new, and comfortable. It was obviously God telling us He still had our backs. The next day Mark found out his work permit will be here Friday. Amazing.

It won’t solve all our problems for next week, but it reminds me we’re living a day at a time. We have everything we need – and thank goodness my definition of “everything we need” has been significantly altered since moving here.