You learn when you visit foreign countries.
I learned a great deal on my trip to Guatemala in June. I learned volcanic ash sometimes looks like black dirt. I learned in some countries corruption is systemic and, to a degree, grudgingly accepted. I learned Jorge Ubico, the dictator – excuse me – authoritarian ruler of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944, had a bizarre affinity for the number five!
I also learned a great deal about painting. We painted and did repair work at ITL – Instituto Teológico Latinoamericano (Latin American Theological Institute). I learned about better brush strokes and methods to trim-paint. However, I also learned some lessons beyond just painting…
1) Sometimes we can’t see details best when we’re too close. Painting a wall, or an eave on an overhang, there were times I could only see what was right in front of me and not how the job looked as a whole. I could see where I’d used the roller or brush, but not how the color had blended, or if I’d missed a spot or two.
Sometimes when we’re in a difficult time or a struggle, it’s easy to get bogged down in it and feel hopeless and helpless. Psalm 109:22 and 26 say, “For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me…Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!†(ESV). When we feel “poor and needy†it helps to remember, even in our darkest, encompassing moments when we can’t see around our obstacle, God is there for us.
2) The more distance between you and what you’re painting, the less effective you are! Some places we had to reach required an extension on the roller and a rather springy homemade metal ladder. Often the uncomfortable decision had to be made to climb on the roof – or something – to get closer to the wall needing paint.
I find myself, on occasion, wondering why so-and-so did what they did. Why did she post that picture of herself dressed immodestly on social media? Why did he bite my head off the other day? Too often I find myself wondering…and not acting. In Matthew 18:15, Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.†Sometimes, we have to get really close to figure out a situation. It’s not always comfortable, but we have to get close to solve problems.
3) Waiting for paint, or tarps, or brushes to dry so they can be reused takes more patience than I’m used to! In Guatemala, you don’t just buy a brush for every person and for each color. Sometimes the blue brush has to be cleaned and used for the white paint –or vice-versa. I tend to want what I want…now!
We want people outside of Christ to listen to His message. We want erring Christians to turn back to the Lord and His church. And we want it now! Paul reminds us, “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all†(1 Thessalonians 5:14). God is patient. We should be too. That doesn’t mean we don’t work or we don’t try. It just means we love, we show concern, and we encourage…and have patience.
God has a way of teaching us lessons where we least expect it: from a donkey’s mouth (Numbers 22:28), from a fig tree (John 2:48), or from a man sowing his field (Matthew 13:3). We can learn God’s valuable lessons from many aspects of our lives – if we’re willing to learn.
