Well, for one it fits me (kind of), and it's hard to find things that fit me, two, ... it was in a pile of good usable things for sale, and I wanted a bathrobe, and I love turquoise... and the pink belt that didn't originally go with it looks super cool. But wearing this doesn't make me look my age... not that I would go out like that, but "What would people think?" ..........
....
"Who cares?" you might think, but I do... I care about what people think, simply because they are thinking, and what people think shapes them... makes them who they are, and if people are going to think about us, then I want to give them something good to think about. Let's forget about the turquoise bathrobe with pink belt... who cares... and bear with me, I've been gone for two weeks and I'm 30 now!
A long time ago when I was 18 years old I went to India. I was not there by choice. Because of my illness, being paralyzed, learning to walk again, and not being fully recovered, my dad decided that we should go to India to see a famous guru that did miracles, and perhaps he could heal me. I was already a Christian and believed that there was only one God, one Savior, and that I was not to bow down before any god... so seeing the guru and being healed by him was not something I wanted to do even if it meant living the rest of my life as a handicap, but on the other hand there was my dad... a medical doctor that could not heal his own daughter because of this weird illness and was looking for any other way to bringing her back to how she was. That doesn't really matter, but I still felt like I had to obey him as he was my father and go with him. So I did, not easily but I did.
My dad and I stayed in a little village-like place where thousands of people from all over the world were coming daily to be near/see/talk to this guru. This guru had his own little airport, the place where we were staying had bakeries, shops, restaurants... it was alive. My eyes were wide open.Their logo... the five religious symbols in one... in other words, all religions are the same. As a 18 year old, and pretty much a young Christian I was determined to share with all about my faith and to let them know that I was not like them, and my God was not this guru. So I would go out looking for people to talk to, and tell them who and what I was, and guess what I heard? "You are a Christian? Oh, me too!" (big smile) The first time I heard this I thought "Really? Are you also here on an undercover mission like moi?" - but see... this is what I heard each time. We are all one and the same thing, serving One and the same God in different forms. There were times when my stomach just wanted to cry out (I feel in my stomach first, then my heart)... "no you are not, if you were you wouldn't be here serving this god." So, I had a dilemma, everywhere I went, I was just like everyone else and saying that I was a Christians made no difference, they were all "Christians" too. I had to wear the same kind of clothes as they did when I was there, and even if I walked around with my Bible I knew I wasn't standing out, so I cried out to God and said "Lord, if you are the one and only true God, and if those who trust in You are your followers, there must be a difference between your followers and those who don't follow you! Doing good, is not it, because all these people are trying to be good people. Eternal salvation is the difference but when you share and you hear that we are all Christians, and they all believe they will go to heaven... what is it that makes the difference?" Thinking that I was right and they were wrong was not good either. I didn't get an answer that night...
I wasn't really into Indian food because it was a bit too spicy for me, so everyday I would go out and eat at a hotel where they served fried rice with mushrooms. It goes like this... you go to a restaurant and you find a seat. It doesn't matter if there are three people you don't know at the table... if you found a seat sit down. So one day I went and found a seat at a table where there was an old lady. She was probably around 58 but I was 18 so that made her old to me back then. She was eating so I quietly sat across from her, and said "Enjoy you meal." She said "Thank you". When she got up to leave I got my fried rice and she said "Enjoy your meal too." and I said "Thank you." I ate, paid and left. The next day I went back to the restaurant with my dad. We were talking when this same lady came up to us and asked if she could sit with us. She told us her name, that she was Australian and that she spent all night thinking about me. She said there was something that made her think about me and she was trying to figure out what it was. When it hit her that it was love. She said that she knew I loved God and that I had love. I was shocked... I hadn't shared many words with her the day before, and she was telling us this. I told her that she was right, that I loved God. I didn't know much, I didn't do things right all the time, I wasn't perfect, but I did love God. We told her why we were there, that I wasn't a follower of this guru, and we shared about the struggles that we were having because of this. She was a guru follower. After our meal I left back to our room and my heart felt like it was 4 times bigger and faster. Somebody saw a difference, my prayer was answered. I jumped on my bed and opened my NIV Bible that I had at the time. I didn't know my Bible very well so I was going through the gospels, when I came upon this verses for the first time.
I spent a whole month in India, met many people, had many great experiences, and left being in love with the place and people. On the day I left India there was a prayer that the Lord had not yet answered. Before going to India and while I was there, I was praying for the Lord to show me a real Christian in India. I wanted to meet a Christian while I was there. On our way to the airport, as I looked out the window and saw all the people, the shops, the dresses for sale, the elephants on the road, we slowed down a bit and passed a market where there were table after table covered with little Hindu gods... and in the middle of this line of tables I saw a man, walking with a wooden board on his shoulder and a white T-shirt that said, "Jesus is the way"... I just rested back on the seat having seen enough, and believing by faith that God had just answered my last prayer once again.
What does all this have to with a turquoise Dora bathrobe? I guess that even if we do our best to dress nicely for God's glory, try to look, walk, talk, and live in a good way... which is all good mind you... it's our heart that matters. People will judge us by our words, actions, physical appearance... and we can all try to control these areas, but God looks at our hearts, and there is something that people both young and old are sensitive to... it is "love"... real love, the kind that I believe can only come from above...
If you don't know Jesus... let me tell you that His life is the best love story ever told, an eternal one that involves you and your story too... As Christmas approaches remember how Jesus came in a humble way as a child, so we could all approach Him and not be ashamed... The rich and poor, the well educated and the not so well educated, young and old, the sick and the healthy, found their answers in Him... He is the way, come and see...
(P.S.) You can pat yourself in the back if you got this far ;)
A long time ago when I was 18 years old I went to India. I was not there by choice. Because of my illness, being paralyzed, learning to walk again, and not being fully recovered, my dad decided that we should go to India to see a famous guru that did miracles, and perhaps he could heal me. I was already a Christian and believed that there was only one God, one Savior, and that I was not to bow down before any god... so seeing the guru and being healed by him was not something I wanted to do even if it meant living the rest of my life as a handicap, but on the other hand there was my dad... a medical doctor that could not heal his own daughter because of this weird illness and was looking for any other way to bringing her back to how she was. That doesn't really matter, but I still felt like I had to obey him as he was my father and go with him. So I did, not easily but I did.
My dad and I stayed in a little village-like place where thousands of people from all over the world were coming daily to be near/see/talk to this guru. This guru had his own little airport, the place where we were staying had bakeries, shops, restaurants... it was alive. My eyes were wide open.Their logo... the five religious symbols in one... in other words, all religions are the same. As a 18 year old, and pretty much a young Christian I was determined to share with all about my faith and to let them know that I was not like them, and my God was not this guru. So I would go out looking for people to talk to, and tell them who and what I was, and guess what I heard? "You are a Christian? Oh, me too!" (big smile) The first time I heard this I thought "Really? Are you also here on an undercover mission like moi?" - but see... this is what I heard each time. We are all one and the same thing, serving One and the same God in different forms. There were times when my stomach just wanted to cry out (I feel in my stomach first, then my heart)... "no you are not, if you were you wouldn't be here serving this god." So, I had a dilemma, everywhere I went, I was just like everyone else and saying that I was a Christians made no difference, they were all "Christians" too. I had to wear the same kind of clothes as they did when I was there, and even if I walked around with my Bible I knew I wasn't standing out, so I cried out to God and said "Lord, if you are the one and only true God, and if those who trust in You are your followers, there must be a difference between your followers and those who don't follow you! Doing good, is not it, because all these people are trying to be good people. Eternal salvation is the difference but when you share and you hear that we are all Christians, and they all believe they will go to heaven... what is it that makes the difference?" Thinking that I was right and they were wrong was not good either. I didn't get an answer that night...
I wasn't really into Indian food because it was a bit too spicy for me, so everyday I would go out and eat at a hotel where they served fried rice with mushrooms. It goes like this... you go to a restaurant and you find a seat. It doesn't matter if there are three people you don't know at the table... if you found a seat sit down. So one day I went and found a seat at a table where there was an old lady. She was probably around 58 but I was 18 so that made her old to me back then. She was eating so I quietly sat across from her, and said "Enjoy you meal." She said "Thank you". When she got up to leave I got my fried rice and she said "Enjoy your meal too." and I said "Thank you." I ate, paid and left. The next day I went back to the restaurant with my dad. We were talking when this same lady came up to us and asked if she could sit with us. She told us her name, that she was Australian and that she spent all night thinking about me. She said there was something that made her think about me and she was trying to figure out what it was. When it hit her that it was love. She said that she knew I loved God and that I had love. I was shocked... I hadn't shared many words with her the day before, and she was telling us this. I told her that she was right, that I loved God. I didn't know much, I didn't do things right all the time, I wasn't perfect, but I did love God. We told her why we were there, that I wasn't a follower of this guru, and we shared about the struggles that we were having because of this. She was a guru follower. After our meal I left back to our room and my heart felt like it was 4 times bigger and faster. Somebody saw a difference, my prayer was answered. I jumped on my bed and opened my NIV Bible that I had at the time. I didn't know my Bible very well so I was going through the gospels, when I came upon this verses for the first time.
" A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35I read it over and over, seeing the word love and remembering what this lady said, and again feeling like the Lord was near... with me.
I spent a whole month in India, met many people, had many great experiences, and left being in love with the place and people. On the day I left India there was a prayer that the Lord had not yet answered. Before going to India and while I was there, I was praying for the Lord to show me a real Christian in India. I wanted to meet a Christian while I was there. On our way to the airport, as I looked out the window and saw all the people, the shops, the dresses for sale, the elephants on the road, we slowed down a bit and passed a market where there were table after table covered with little Hindu gods... and in the middle of this line of tables I saw a man, walking with a wooden board on his shoulder and a white T-shirt that said, "Jesus is the way"... I just rested back on the seat having seen enough, and believing by faith that God had just answered my last prayer once again.
What does all this have to with a turquoise Dora bathrobe? I guess that even if we do our best to dress nicely for God's glory, try to look, walk, talk, and live in a good way... which is all good mind you... it's our heart that matters. People will judge us by our words, actions, physical appearance... and we can all try to control these areas, but God looks at our hearts, and there is something that people both young and old are sensitive to... it is "love"... real love, the kind that I believe can only come from above...
If you don't know Jesus... let me tell you that His life is the best love story ever told, an eternal one that involves you and your story too... As Christmas approaches remember how Jesus came in a humble way as a child, so we could all approach Him and not be ashamed... The rich and poor, the well educated and the not so well educated, young and old, the sick and the healthy, found their answers in Him... He is the way, come and see...
(P.S.) You can pat yourself in the back if you got this far ;)
8 comments:
Jimena, I just began my lunch break at work, and as I was eating my yogurt and Oreo cookies (I know, that sounds hypocrital!) I was notified of your post. You're so on target. Thank you for sharing this - and your Dora robe! :)
I raised the question while in Sunday school about why we dress up for church. What is our real motive? Too often we are looking to fit in, look good, show what we can afford, cover our ugly, weathered, wrinkled, and sagging bodies, or make us feel good about ourselves. Yet we take less time with our internal look. Some in the class said we should "bring of our best to the master."
To challenge the class, I asked, "What would you think if an elder served Sunday morning communion while wearing shorts and a t-shirt?" (I attend a formal church.) That, I think, got the issue across. We say dressing up for church is to show honor and respect to the Lord, but in reality we judge the outside of people.
And...as you say, people should know us by our love expressed from hearts and lives that are being transformed by the grace of mercy of Jesus Christ.
You say all this far better than this old 57 year old man can. So thank you for your words - except one. ;) I believe that you meant to use "bear" instead of "bare" especially in reference to prancing in your bathrobe! You always do so well with your English so I really get tickled when you do make a mistake. Especially one like this. See https://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/bare.html
Haha... yes yes, you see... I was afraid people had these notifications because I post my posts first to make it easy to proof-read for such mistakes... man and what a mistake... and you just had to go ahead and trumpet it didn't you... hey, do you want to be my editor as you are so good with words? Why is it so easy to talk to you as if you were indeed a little brother?
Yes, our hearts are important, and so are our actions... I think this can challenge many people... people that fill their lives with good actions to please men and God, and forget where their hearts really are... people that want to keep following the Lord with all their hearts as well, because the closer we get to the Lord the more He will purify us which usually means we will have to change habits, actions and so on... be obedient... but yes, the heart.
Thanks for your comment. Hope you enjoyed your lunch... you still eat Oreos... just had to say that.
God bless you.
I do find pleasure in finding errors in your posts because your linguistic skills are phenominal. In many respects, better than this native English speaker. :)
This one was too good to ignore. I'm actually not sure if it was a "slip of the tongue" or a "Freudian slip." Regardless, I loved it.
So tell me, what is your opinion of Oreos and are they available there?
Its interesting that you posted this. Kristina and I were in North Carolina taking care of my sister-in-law last week and we took enough clothes for staying till Saturday. So we weren't planning to go to church with her on Sunday since we figured we would be home by then. Well...the Lord had other plans. We ended up staying till Tuesday (yesterday) and therefore had nothing "dressy" for Sunday services. It really bothered Kristina and I. We have been taught since getting saved that you wear dressy clothes on Sundays. We had a denim skirt and a khaki skirt with some casual tops to go with them. We also had only casual shoes. We weren't comfortable with wearing these to Sunday services. We always try to represent our Lord, our church and my husband as our pastor well. We never want to bring reproach to any of them.
We had resolved to the fact that we were just going to wear the best of what we had with us to church. But the Lord knew our hearts and how it saddened us and He provided us with Sunday outfits for church. My sister-in-law took us shopping to get clothes.
We would have still gone to church even if we hadn't gotten anything new or dressy for church....because it is more important to go than to worry about what you are wearing...as long as it doesn't shame the Lord. Although I know many who won't go to church if they don't have anything proper to wear. How sad!!
Jimena, this was such a heart warming post! Thank you for sharing your India experiance!!
Lots of hugs!!
Amy
I'm so glad you got the answers to prayer you needed during what must have been a difficult time.
Sis.Julie, as I mentioned to you apart, it's funny that you and Doug thought about dressing for church from my post. I like how you put that we shouldn't shame the Lord in how we dress :)
With pleasure Sis.Amy - I like to share about the Lord and the places He has taken me.
Saved Sinner - you know, what was difficult was "going" - I was scared and didn't know what to expect, so taking that first step of faith was what was difficult, but once I took it I realized that God was on the other side too, that I wasn't alone, and I had a great time. Yes, I had a few days that were very hard and painful even, but God doesn't ask us to do things He doesn't think we would be able to handle. Thanks for your comment!
The Lord bless you all!
Thank you Chiquitina to have reminded me that time so particular in the India, with your memory so faithful to the facts. And it is only up to now that I can have a better idea of what meant that adventure for you; thank you for your effort to accompany because like you know, the meaning of that experience for me it was different. Thank you because like you can imagine, alone I had not gone. I went, as you well refer it, only for your cause but I met with my cause. Starting from that memorable staying, the little bit that I had accumulated of personal religiosity, has left becoming the most splendid spirituality that doesn't stop of growing. One day you will be able to understand it. I comment your post because certainly you have presented with a lot of clarity, your devotion and your loyalty to that Supreme Being that we all yearn and we wanted to reach. My desire to make emphasis overalls in the way so elegant as you expose the great formula, the one that in words of that sublime Guru, it would be summarized this way: "It is the heart the one that reaches the goal." That "your" Lord, follows you filling of blessings until you get that light that you look for in the center of your own heart. In that point all duality disappears and only remains The One without second, only remains God. (Please, tell Doug, I speak a very poor English).
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