Inconvenience

(Christen) God is re-shaping my perspective on life. I am a selfish person. Somewhere in the course of life I got my wants crossed with my needs, which has led to me thinking less of helping others and more of helping myself.

In Ghana I’ve met people who think of nothing but helping others- often to what most would consider the detriment of their own happiness. Yet these people find their joy in helping others. It is refreshing to see, and has caused me to do a little self reflection.

God has been working on my selfish heart for a while. Brady and I had been talking about adoption for over a year before we officially began the process. I’m ashamed to say our main reason for waiting to adopt has been an ugly one- Inconvenience. When we spoke of adoption in the past, the conclusion would always be, ‘let’s not inconvenience our life just yet.’ A few days ago I watched as ten hungry boys shared a meal that consisted of one bowl of some unknown concoction of food plus a fish head swarming with flies. I realize now how appalling my former thoughts were. I am broken over my own selfish thought patterns to fulfill my wants, while ignoring and denying others of their most very basic needs. This is not how we as Christians are supposed to live. This desire to not ‘inconvenience’ ourselves is a worldly standard. In Philippians 2 we are told to ‘count others more significant than ourselves’ and to ‘look not only to your own interest but to the interest of others’. How often do we really do this?

I hope we all strive in the future to ‘inconvenience’ ourselves more in whatever God calls us to do. I hope to never forget the things I’ve seen here; and to never become complacent with my selfish sin nature. To everyday emulate more of HIM and less of me.