“Uhhhh…SIERRRRAAAAA…” is not really sound that I enjoy hearing as a leader. Immediately, ten thousand things of what could have possibly gone wrong crossed my mind and I hopped off my top bunk bed to rush to the small living area next to my room where I found two teammates with appalled looks on their faces huddled over a pile of dripping, red…
Hot sauce.
Yes, hot sauce.
Which probably doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but after a week and a half of eating Honduran food (don’t get me wrong, we sure are spoiled here & it’s delicious!), I was pretty excited about the bottle of hot sauce I had purchase for the team to use.
We quickly assessed how to best clean up the shards of glass and exchanged apologies of, “I’m so sorry, I should’ve been more careful!” and, “Oh, no- it’s my fault for putting it in such a silly place!” Following clean-up, I headed back to my bedroom and said something along the lines of, “Goodnight again, ladies! I still love you as much as I did five minutes ago!”
Not words I would have really ever used to describe myself, but aspects of my character The Lord has really been working on in me this past season.
I could’ve been so frustrated.
I could’ve been so disappointed.
I could’ve been harsh in my response.
Yes, it’s just hot sauce- but how often does this happen in life, with issues of much greater importance?
Jesus was a man of utmost gentleness, meekness, and humility.
How could I possibly sum up this lesson I’ve been learning over the past months in a short, 500 word blog? I can’t, really.
But I do know- I want to reflect the character of Jesus.
When people see me, I want them to see Him.
When people hear me, I want them to hear Him.
When people smell me, I want them to smell Him.
When people touch me, I want them to touch Him.
And so I’ve learned to react in a way opposite of what my flesh would choose.
Whether it’s spilled hot sauce or…
Oh, yeah, I stepped on a nail during construction this morning.
You know how you always hear the lesson about making sure that nails aren’t still in wood laying around the construction site, to make sure that none of the workers step on one? Well, lesson learned: through the hiking shoe and straight up into my foot.
(for all who are wondering, yes, my tetanus shot is up to date!)
Yes, I am sore. Yes, I could blame someone for leaving it there. Yes, I could question the Lord, “What about sending angels so that I won’t dash my foot against a stone…errr…step on a nail?”
But I trust Him.
And He is worthy.
So today I choose to respond in gentleness.
…and send a teammate to buy more hot sauce, because I’ve heard it’s rice and beans again for lunch…;)
