Bum Weekend

What was supposed to be an awesome, fun-filled weekend ended up being a total bum. Remember how Miguel and I were going snowboarding on Saturday? Yeah that didn't happen. Why, you ask? Because I woke up on Saturday with a sharp electrical pain shooting through my neck. It was so bad I couldn't move for nearly the entire day. I just laid in bed with ice on my neck crying out in pain and wondering if I should go to the hospital. It wasn't like having a stiff neck, like you just slept on it wrong or something. It was more like receiving an electric shock directly into your nerves. I was highly annoyed. I mean, the thought crossed my mind that maybe it happened to keep me from taking Miguel up to Wintergreen that day...like maybe something bad was going to happen if we went (like he'd break his wrist or something)...so I was really okay with not going. I feel bad even saying this but I was kind of annoyed at God (although I got over it very quickly). I was annoyed because if God was trying to protect us then I'm okay with that. But I was still the one who had to tell Miguel that we couldn't go and his little face was so sad. He understood, for sure, but he was so disappointed. Fortunately, in his brilliance, God made kids resilient and he immediately cheered up when I asked him if he wanted to still go to church on Sunday. So it's all good now.

Today has been a little better. Miguel and I went to church and Pastor Pete's message was fantastic. It was all about the first chapter of Luke and the purposes of putting the announcements of John the Baptist's and Jesus' births in there. It was cool because he focused on the verse that says "for nothing is impossible with God". He was talking about how Zacarias (I've been reading the bible in Spanish for so long now, I can't remember how to spell his name in English) and Mary were both using excuses for why God couldn't use them (Zacarias said he and his wife were too old, Mary said she was too young and for obvious reasons). It's just like we make excuses for why God can't use us. It's the very thing that disqualifies us that makes us a candidate for God's power. While I was attempting to translate for Miguel the comparisons the pastor was making, Miguel found similarities of his own. He said, "Look Miss Tice, it says they were both scared at first but the angel said, 'Don't be afraid.'" Finally, the pastor ended with a really cool observation. He said that many times we read that passage where it says that God found special favor with Mary and we think there was something special that Mary had that we don't have. THAT'S why God used her and not us. But then he pointed out a verse in Ephesians 1 that uses the exact same Greek word as "found favor". It's the word used for "freely given". It's the same original word. So there was nothing special about Mary. It was God, freely giving her favor. So once again, we can never think that Mary had any special characteristic that qualified her for special favor, but not us. I thought that was cool.

After church, I talked to Miguel's mom for about an hour and a half outside their house. She wants to learn English so she can communicate with other people here so she asked me to help her. She wants to come to the Christmas Eve service at my church, if she doesn't have to work. And her oldest son, Ivan, wants to play indoor soccer this winter with SOCA. I contacted SOCA to request financial assistance, because I don't think scholarships are available for indoor soccer. If you could, please pray for Miguel's family - that his mom would be able to learn English without too much difficulty, that SOCA would allow Ivan to play with at least some financial assistance, and that all three of them would go to sleep at night knowing there's a God who cares about them and who is looking out for their needs.

Okay, fine so I guess the weekend wasn't completely wasted. In fact I guess it was kind of nice doing nothing and just laying in bed the whole time. Fine, fine, fine, God. I suppose I've learned, once again, that your plan's better than my plan. Why do I have to be such a stubborn learner?