Blessings
Blessings come in many forms. Blessings are the best when they are unexpected. Blessings are the best when they humble you.
Upon returning to my house a few moments ago, I found our sinks fixed. Why did our sinks need fixing? Well, let me tell you. In our kitchen, our sink requires extra help. Or I guess I should say our faucet requires extra help. It has one of those hoses so that you can pull the faucet out and extend it. I'm not sure what that is called as it has been a long day and my brain is fried. So if you know what it is called, well then that's great. Moving on. The hose on that sink tended to leak requiring us to place bowls under the hose to catch the leaking water otherwise we would have a pool in the cabinet under the sink and on the floor. I guess it would keep the floor clean? Well today a wonderful man came and fixed the faucet so it does not leak! Blessing! Am I thankful for the leaky faucet as well? Sure. I don't know how yet, but I am.
After this awesome kitchen sink discovery, I proceeded to go to the bathroom for, well for reasons.
The bathroom sink was an interesting problem. Somehow the drain had fallen out. So all we had was a hole in the sink where the drain would be. The water would just fall out from the sink onto the floor. Now this particular bathroom is a combination shower/bathroom which means there is no separate shower stall. The bathroom is the shower stall. This being true, there is a drain in the floor so at least the water would go into the drain. But you still ran the chance of your feet and socks getting wet. Well guess what! Yep, you guessed it! The wonderful man repaired the drain so that it is now connected to the sink and doing its job! woohoo!!!
If that was the end of this blog, it would be worth it for me. I think you could agree those are some pretty awesome blessings. But like I said blessings can come in many forms and are best when they humble you. Does the blessings of two fixed sinks humble me? I guess they could, but I wouldn't really know how.
No, the blessing that humbled me came right before I discovered the two fixed sinks.
Now before I continue, let me start off by saying that today was a rough day. If you knew what I did this weekend (and you will soon), you would expect that I would be very tired. And I was! And I am! So I was already really tired. Then, today was my second full day of teaching. So I was super duper tired and not in the best mood. Poor kids. I did hold back my crankiness somewhat for them, so it wasn't too bad.
After school I have been working with a student who needs a lot of help. This student has a mother who is a helicopter mother. In case you are unclear as to what that is, let me explain. She comes in the middle of class to give him stuff. She comes 10 minutes before school is over and stands in the doorway. She is often hanging out at the school. She is around A LOT. Needless to say, or maybe it is needed, I have been a bit annoyed by this parent as well as others that are similar to her. I knew I shouldn't be, because that not is exactly showing the love of Christ, but I'm selfish.
Let's just be honest. I'm working here as a missionary, but I am a human being. That isn't an excuse for my actions and my sin, but it is an explanation. It means that I have a lot to work on, and God is working on me. I am so very thankful that God is working on me and hasn't given up on me!! Today's blessing was evidence of the fact that He is doing something.
Anyhow, back to the action. This student's mom came and talked to me after I was done with her child. She started talking about future plans for her child, and I asked her about her husband. I knew that he wasn't in the picture, but she kind of avoided the subject. She came back to it and let me know about him. How he cheated on her at least 5 times and got at least 5 women pregnant. How he would say various women were just friends but then spend the weekend with them. How he up and left them here in Korea and went to Alaska. How he did so much more than that.
I was tearing up while she was talking, but trying not to lose it in front of her. I wanted to burst into tears while she was talking, after we were done, and even now.
She told me how she is a single mom. She told me how stressed she is about her child being so far behind academically. She told me how they were going to move back to the States with her oldest son, but there were places she didn't want to go because there were too many bad memories. She told me how hard life is at 50 something years old. She told me she believed in God, but I could see that for her hope was running out.
Ultimately, she kept and keeps a smile on her face. We finished talking when a friend of hers came to get her.
How is this a blessing? I was honored that she would share this part of her life with me. I am convicted about the way I have been treating or even thinking about a lot of my students' parents, but I already feel my heart softened towards them. I am humbled by what she shared with me. I am humbled by the circumstances of her life.
Single mothers really do have it hard. They are everything to their children. Caregiver, cook, protector, provider, leader, adviser and so much more. With two parents, I'm sure it can still be tough, but with one there is no one to share the load. No one to fall back on. In this case the father isn't even in the picture. So everything absolutely falls on her.
Is it wrong to say that I am blessed by someone else's suffering? Really, that isn't want I'm saying at all. I want to take her suffering away, and I would if I could. What I am blessed by is the fact that she shared all this with me and the effect it had on me. Now, don't worry. I realize this isn't all about me. I'm just sharing what I know from my point of view.
I wish I could write here that I prayed for her and shared a verse. I waited for her to pause for me to be able to say that I would pray for her then, but her friend came in before that happened. Then I felt it was too late. However, I will be and am praying for and her child. Also, I am committed to helping her child as much as I possibly can. I am also renewed in my dedication to teaching my students the best that I can. May these actions bless the people who receive them and may they glorify the Lord.
