As I had my hand submerged in the toilet...

Since moving into my house, I have done some things I don’t generally do.  Or at least things I don’t generally do successfully.  Some of these activities include:

Hooking up my television to the cable.  When my efforts on this endeavor proved to be successful, I could barely believe it.  How in the world did I manage to make this work?!  These are the things I usually have Dad or some other more “technologically equipped” person do.  Last time I tried to do something like this (which was hooking my computer up to my printer), it took about 4 months to get the thing working… and I didn’t even do it, I ended up having a friend fix what I had done.

Fixing the toilet when it broke.  Yes, I have been here for just over three days, and the toilet is already acting up.  These are the things I generally have the big sis or the invincible Mom do.  First of all, it’s gross.  Secondly, if you read the previous paragraph, you know there’s a good chance I’ll mess up something like this more than it already is.  BUT, I pulled off the lid to the top compartment, saw the chain being all unattached, and knew I had to take matters into my own hands.  I reached into the not-quite-clean-looking water, and successfully fixed the toilet, which is now flushing again.

Being especially homemaker-ish.  In these past three days, I have cooked and baked copious amounts of food, because of said cooking- have done lots of dishes, done the laundry, sanitized the kitchen, moved in my stuff and organized it all. These are the things I do on occasion, but not on the high frequency schedule like the past few days. 

As I had my hand submerged in the toilet tonight, I realized that God has equipped me with the skills and “courage” (hey, for me, sticking my hand in the toilet requires courage) I need to be living on my own.  I love how God provides even the smallest needs.

And then I was reminded of this past summer.  I was invited to co-lead a mission trip to Costa Rica.  Now if you know me, you know this is outside of my comfort zone.  I had only been camping once before (and not all that successfully), I had never been on a mission trip longer than about a week, and I tend to be a “homebody.”   But I said “yes” and had the most amazing summer of my life.   And God was faithful to equip me this summer. 

I could not imagine spending my summer any other way than in Costa Rica.  I learned so much about myself, about my God, and about life in general.  “Comfort” to me before this trip was having 13 kinds of yogurt to choose from in the fridge, a bathroom all to myself with 6 different kinds of perfume, a car at my fingertips at all times, and a comfy mattress with University of Washington sheets.  There were times during this summer that I missed these items, but I was never in need.  I had plenty of food, bathrooms that served the needs I had, shoes to walk in or buses to ride, and a cot and sleeping bag to rest in. 

When God leads me to any situation, good or bad, He always equips me.  Even when I think there’s no possible way I can get through it, I do.

Wherever it is that you go, God will go with you and provide you with all you need.  “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Deuteronomy 31:6)

So wherever God is calling you or leading, fear not.  He is there with you and will never forsake you, even if you’re fixing a toilet.