The Poor

I think I've shared with you all that I'm participating in three Bible studies at the moment. I haven't been able to be in a daytime Bible study in years because of homeschooling. I'm taking full advantage of the daytime hours that I have now that the boys are attending the International School. On Mondays I'm participating in Beth Moore's Daniel study with about 10 other ladies from the US, most of them are here with DOW Chemical. It is such a great group of ladies, every week I get my TX and LA fix. One of the ladies is from the New Orleans area and I just love talking with her, listening to her LA accent. Several of the ladies are from the Houston area and one lady is from Amarillo. We have a lot in common, chiefly our love of the Lord. Six of the ladies are from my church. I wanted to share some thoughts from this weeks lesson that really spoke to me. I have struggled being here with the whole disparity of wealth thing. It is very convicting when you have someone going through your trash daily and you don't have a food disposal. I worry what Noik thinks as she sorts through my trash scavenging for anything recyclable or re-usable. Does she think I'm wasteful and extravagant in my purchases.I've even gone so far to shred some receipts not wanting her to know what I spent at a given store. In some ways I feel like I'm representing the US to her and what ideas she forms about Americans. She has commented on how much I have spent on something, for example Log Cabin syrup, I paid $10 for a large bottle initially but have since found a Thai syrup that is just fine and a fraction of the cost of Log Cabin. I've become so conscientious about wasting food, I give the catfish in our pond any left-over or molded bread, and I've even fed them some pancake remnants. We really don't waste near the food we did in the states, which really it helped having 2 dogs to feed scraps too, it just didn't feel so wasteful. She has no concept of being able to just go get something if you want it. I don't think I ever took our financial situation for granted but my eyes have really been opened to how spoiled, how gluttonous, how extravagant, how comfortable we are-all of us from the US. Every time that Songran helps me unload all of our groceries into the house or takes us to some nice restaurant I think about our situation. Every time a delivery person or service person sees our house I'm confronted with this issue. This weeks' lesson in Daniel spoke to some of these thoughts that I've been wrestling with. Beth Moore talks about when you lose touch with the poor, you lose touch with your own poverty of spirit. Philip Yancey states, " You are a part of the privileged if you can buy a book and read it." Do you know how many, many people in this world can't buy a book of their own and would give anything for the education to be able to read. If that is a definition of wealth-all of us are extremely wealthy. I doubt if Noik or Songran either one have more than 5 books in their homes, I brought probably 5 boxes of books over from the states. Beth stated that we have to be mindful and active to care for the poor. Not for their sakes but for ours. Isaiah 58:10-11 says, "If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones: You shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." Oh, that the Lord would protect us from self-consumption and let us never lose touch with the poor and thus our own poverty of spirit. I'm destitute without God. I have to have Him. Daniel 4:37 says those who walk in pride he is able to humble. I want to clothe myself in humility as mentioned in 1Peter 5:5-6 rather than be humbled by God. I always want to have a poor in spirit mindset thus strengthening my dependence on the Lord thus I need to be actively mindful of the poor all around me.I want to extend my soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted souls around me, I want my light to shine brightly here. Pray for us that it will be so.