Cleanliness

⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.   James 4:7-9

   I was brought up to clean up behind myself.  I have become a little ocd about how my things are organized and look.  I never thought much about it.  I always know where my things are, I know if anyone touches my stuff, I am not wasting things (I will use a pen until all the ink out because I don't tend to loose things), and I am not hurting anyone.  I keep myself and my garments fairly clean too. 

     Since moving here I have had to learn how to let go on the small stuff.  I don't have a dryer so I don't have my clothes the way I like them in the US.  Not a big deal.  I no longer have a washing machine, so now I have to wash dishes daily by hand.  That one was a little harder because I hate washing dishes.  All this is just small things.

  

   God has worked miracles in my heart with somethings that are not so small.  At my job, they clean things with unpurified water and mostly without any cleanser. The tables we eat at are outside with shelter, but in the shelter are pigeons.  Just this week we ate with bird poop on the table with us.  We get one dish and a spoon, so some food gets on the table.  The kids will just pick it up and eat it.  That was hard for me, but our rule there is not to waste and eat every bite you are given.  We have about five large bowls for washing dishes: two with soap in it and three for rinsing.  It has been a change.  I just make sure that my plate or bowl is completely dry before receiving any food. 

     It may seem like I am complaining, but I am rejoicing in how God is changing my heart. In the States, I would not be able to handle that at all.  Where I am from, we seem obsessed with good hygene and cleanliness.  I was fairly normal in that aspect. Now, I have learned that if you don't get sick or it doesn't kill you, then let it go.  God is in control, not me and my mindset of how things should or should not be.  God is good!