Monday, June 16, 2008

Butterfly Infestations and other ways God reveals his blessings...


The place that we are living in is an old Methodist church. Our room has no windows and a fruit fly problem. The bathrooms are downstairs and the showers are itty-bitty and a little scary. I know it is really not that bad a place to live, however, not only do we have a fruit fly problem, but I have seen more roaches that I want to admit crawling around my bed and the other girl's beds as well. I am going to let you in on a little secret: I have seen 1 live roach in my entire life. I freaked out and screamed for my dad to come save me!...Needless to say, I HATE cockroaches!!! So living in a room where killing a roach is a common occurance doesn't sit well with me. I had gotten over my initial fear after a few days, but still, no one likes the sight of a roach...or the sound...blech.
I mentioned my fear and loathing of the little devils during a Wednesday morning staff prayer meeting, saying "I am really trying to get used to them, but they're just SO UGLY!! I mean, it would be different if it was a BUTTERFLY infestation or something..." So we prayed that I would be able to deal with the nasty things. A night later that week, I walked into my room, and there I found my butterfly infestation! Dozens of the most adorable construction paper butterflies were hanging from the ceiling from ribbons, each one decorated. I not only have a very thoughtful and creative Associate City Director (thanks Megan!) but I also have a God who cares about the little stuff that gets to me. I saw the love of God in a flock of paper butterflies (I didn't mention that our director bought 3 huge packages of roach poison and I haven't seen one since...another blessing :) But not only in that. I see God working in such little ways as my kids for the week talking to a homeless person for the first time and actually enjoying it. Or in them sharing how much fun it was to play with the clients at an Alzheimer's facility. So God is in the "little" things, and I found that His love for us manifests itself in so many small ways. We just have to keep our eyes open to notice, and hopefully stay open to Him using us to share His love in the lives of others.

-Emily, CSM Houston City Host Summer 2008

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