A group had just arrived from an American (or maybe Canadian?) church to help work on the base in some capacity. One lady in particular was firing questions at poor Kayla, making demands and grumbling complaints.
"Isn't there some other bathroom we could use? Borrow? RENT? This is absurd! Surely you can't expect all six of us to share one bathroom!... And the beds... really - bunk beds for adults? You've got to be kidding... and isn't there a single box of Kleenex in this apartment?" On and on she went.
Kayla, already late for a dinner date with her husband, if I remember correctly, was successfully concealing her exasperation with this in-your-face guest. While she was on one of her many errands, attempting to please the newcomer as much as humanly possible, I tried to calmly distract the lady with small talk: "So, what do you hope to do while you're in Guatemala?"
Instantly the furrowed brows were replaced with a super sweet (saccharine) expression, and her tone softened to almost a whisper as she righteously declared, "Oh, I'm just here to b-less and encourage the missionaries!"
How often have I done the same thing - attempted some worthwhile task in my own strength, on my own terms, and in the process totally sabotaged the effort. By not relying on the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, my results are no more godly than those of the snarky woman who unwittingly ran ragged the very one she came to "b-less."
No comments:
Post a Comment