Comfort

When I’m hot, I’m used to turning on the air conditioner. When I’m cold, I’m used to turning on the heater. Here in Honduras, most shopping centers are open-air, and most buildings have open windows, so your body gets very accustomed to whatever the temperature is outside. An air conditioner is very difficult to find...and a heater is pretty much impossible to find! (And, yes, it does get cold in Honduras!)

In the States, so much of what could bring us discomfort, we have the power to control: Your steak isn’t cooked correctly? Send it back! That’s not your favorite TV show? Change the channel (or watch something you’ve DVR’d!).

What if we had very little control over things in our lives? Like, what if you didn’t determine what you ate, or even if you ate? Or what if, on a cold night, you not only didn’t have a heater with a thermostat, you also didn’t have windows to keep out the cool air or a blanket to cover up with?

From what I’ve witnessed here so far, this amount of discomfort has the potential to develop in people a flexibility, strength, and resourcefulness that I envy.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t envy their discomfort...but the blessing in disguise may be the opportunity to gain a strength of character and - for those who trust in God - a genuine trust in their Maker and Sustainer.

md