Everyday Grace

It would be easy I suppose to get frustrated by the seemingly inconvenient aspects of life here. There is no Walmart or the like where we can get everything we need at one place. Shopping requires planning and stops at several markets or at least multiple stalls in the market. The heat is taxing, the internet works only sporadically and the language is very different than my native tongue.

I do get annoyed sometimes by these things, but I have been discovering God’s love for me in the little things, the little gifts and every day grace moments that He gives. Like today, when after several hours of the electricity being off, our fans began working again and the apartment cooled down. When the breeze blows in cool as the day’s storm rolls in, the clouds building up and the thunder sounding loud. When I know the right phrase to say at the right time and I am understood (what a gift that is!). Little boys with umbrellas and rain on tin roofs, finding a clock with Khmer numbers and a notebook with plastic sleeves- exactly what we wanted. Our mango lady and her toothless grin, seeing us coming back for more. When I can smile big and the taxi driver agrees to a lower price. Iced Khmer coffee that is the most wonderful thing in the world, homemade granola in the morning, and a few moments of air conditioning before going to bed. These things are so ordinary, so small, but they are everyday grace. I miss this grace when I get caught up in the stress of the day and only look for big gifts. But God is there, showing His love and inviting me to look deeper.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.