Today Tawnee and I were driving into Accra to go to immigration (for her, not me!), and it was pouring buckets, which meant the bumpy, dirt roads were filled will small lakes which we got to drive through! The people who stand in the middle of the roads selling bread, blankets, phone cards, and food items were still out despite the rain, and we watched one lady squeeze between 2 cars, while running through puddles of mud, WITH a big box of fried something-or-other on her head....now that's dedication!
It really made me think about the tough lives that so many Ghanaians lead. They work sunrise to sunset just to be able to get enough money for their food for that day. So much of their existence is centered around survival, which is so different from Americans, which I would say in general live lives centered around enjoyment, entertainment, and being comfortable. Because we've been blessed with so much, we come to expect things to go well. We consider certain things, like clothes, food, medical attention, education, etc. to be "rights". We have the right to these things, and if we don't get them there's disappointment and frustration. However, in Ghana, if the people do get these things they are seen as "gifts" not things to be expected. This generally results in a much more grateful attitude, because they don't expect to get everything they want or even "need", so what they do get is seen as a privilege or gift. On the other hand, for people like myself who are use to having things go right and leading a relatively easy life, when things go wrong we are easily frustrated and discouraged.
These thoughts were sparked when an ambulance passed us and we realized that this is not a common occurance. There are not many people who would call an ambulance in an emergency and expect it to come in a timely manner...something we take for granted in America. Therefore, in a lot of ways they are forced to be more dependent on God, the one in control anyways. For Christians here anyways, life takes more of an eternal view. In reality, all of our lives are so short, and we never know how much time we have left, but I feel like the people here understand that better.
"As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more." (Psalm 103:15-16)How would life be different if I had no expectations? If I saw every good thing as a gift from God...not something that I deserve?
"EVERY good and perfect GIFT is from ABOVE, coming down FROM THE FATHER of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)Being so use to having everything at my fingertips, I'm not even sure that's possible to shift my mindset, but I do want to remind myself that my treasure is in heaven, and my life here is to bring God glory! Reminds me of the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21).
"...a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (verse 15) If we store up treasures for ourselves here on earth and die tonight, what will happen with our treasures and what kind of impact have we made during our time on earth??? Just some food for thought...
