hygiene

things that we never think about...1.having fleas.

i used to think of dirty dogs having fleas, now i think of myself...yes, i have fleas. i got fleas from one of my friends' house...which she has fleas too, so i should've known. but anyways, i got fleas about a week and a half ago, then i got a bunch of misquito bites, and i got sick while i was in Cieneguilla. so this entry came from my journal when i was the most uncomfortable...

9.18.07
the point of this entry is not to complain but to recognize how uncomfortable life can be when you're unclean. our friends on the streets and all over the world experience these things and much more every day. they don't have medicine or resources to make them better. they are permanantly uncomfortable.
my mind can easily think back on the things i have quick access to in the states...a shower, a doctor, etc. and my body can easily desire those things right now. but my soul thirsts for something so much deeper.
as i recognize the pain and suffering our friends go through, the suffering of Paul, and most importantly the suffering of Christ, i realize this is nothing compared to the priceless gain of knoing christ jesus.
For even christ 'made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. and in human form he obediently humbled himslef even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.' phillipians 2:7-8

as i read more of phillipians, i couldn't help but find joy in my uncomfort. i know paul was talking about his accomplishments when he said 'i consider it all as loss' but i use my accomplishments and hardships now when i claim the same thing.
'i once thought all these things were so important, but now i consider them worthless because of what christ has done. yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knoing christ jesus my lord. i have discareded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that i may have christ and become one with him.' phil 3:7-9
wow!
if in this lifetime i have to have fleas, lice, greasy hair, sickeness and much more to be where christ is and to become one with him, i am more than okay with that. if my uncomfort here means someone gets to experience the love of christ, then that's okay too.
as i end this entry, i know two things...1. it can always be worse. and 2. this is not our home so it's not supposed to be comfortable--if it is, something is severely wrong.