Is this for real???

Sometimes I am hit by how surreal it is that we are living in this place. I think it hits me most when I am driving by myself. Picture this scene: the roads are dusty and dirty. In the distance, most days, you can just barely see the mountains. There are faded lines painted on the road, but nobody heeds them. People are whipping around each other with no regard for speed or safety. Often, when you turn, people make two or even three turn-lanes in an effort to all make a u-turn. There is construction everywhere….on houses, businesses and all over the streets. You hear honking…lots of honking. Pedestrians cross at will, with little to no regard for the cars come at them full-speed. Then there are the little motorcycles with carts attached that are going at maybe half the speed of the traffic around them. Oh, and don’t forget to add in to all of this craziness all of the cars that are parked or sit idling along the side of every major road. Let me just say it has taken some time to adjust to driving here, as well as life in general.

I can sometimes focus so much on getting through each day that I forget how unique my life is compared to my friends and family at home. This life is certainly not how I ever would have pictured. Its hard to imagine so much change until you step out in faith and trust God to take care of all of the details. I was reading in James yesterday about how faith without works is dead. I’ve always understood this to mean that you need to be serving others and living a life of generosity. However, when I was reading it again this time I noted the two examples of “works” that were given: the first is of Abraham offering Isaac on the altar of sacrifice, and the other was of Rahab helping the spies escape. Both of these were said to be works of faith. What hit me is that more than serving others is that the work of faith is putting our faith in action. Stepping out in faith and trusting God. If we never test our faith then do we really, truly have faith? I think this may be the more difficult side of “works” because many people seek to help those in need from time to time, but to walk daily, putting your life, decisions, finances, children, etc.. into God’s hands and stepping out even when we don’t know where that journey will lead us…THAT is faith. It is only through that faith that I can accept this surreal life and find joy in all that it brings.