Sometimes humbleness can come to us in the most unexpected of ways, and most often it is when we were not even aware we were in need of it.  When I teach the Bible School students here about the definition of humility, I teach them that it means being aware of the reality of who we are as compared to God…

I learned that today.

I try on this blog to share some of everything… the funny, the adventurous, the spiritual lessons that I learn, the cross-cultural experiences…

… and - every once in a while, the nitty-gritty, the rubber-meets-the-road realities of life as a missionary..

You get the nitty-gritty today.

There is a Bible School employee who, by Sierra Leonean standards is very well off.  Both he and his wife have jobs, where for most, employment is very difficult to find.  He came to me today to ask for help because he said that he was unable to feed his family.  I suspected that he just wanted money, as he has exhibited that tendency in the past, but didn’t want to ignore a plea for help, so I decided to have compassion on him.  It so happened that we had about a dollar in the house at the time, so I literally had nothing to give him.  I expressed sympathy for him and let him know that I had no money but that I had some groundnuts (a staple food here) that I would give him.  He said groundnuts would not help him.  So, I offered him some sweet potatoes, which he hesitantly accepted. 

Now, here is the nitty-gritty part.  I don’t know how we are going to make it through the month, giving is down.  I am NOT complaining.  I know that December is a hard month for everyone, and we have it good compared to so many others...  I only share this in order to explain that those sweet potatoes were a part of what I was depending on in order to stretch our food supply through the month. 

 Roy helped me bag up some sweet potatoes and gave them to the man and he began to walk away….

     ….WITHOUT so much as a “thank you”.

And I got mad.

I called him back and quietly said, “We shared our food with you, you need to tell my husband thank you”.  That was all I said.

He very sheepishly went and thanked Roy.  And that was all that was said.

But….

In my heart, I was still really frustrated.

About an hour later (yes, I am ashamed to admit it) it was still on my mind as I sat on our verandah doing our hand wash.  (The clothes were getting VERY clean!)  As I washed I was venting to God and asking Him to help me let it go.

I looked up, and there came little 4-year-old Tomue (Too-mway) trit-trotting happily along on the way to our house with a little broken-handled pot on her head.  She walked right up to me, informed me she had brought me a gift, and set her pot down in front of me…

….full of sweet potatoes….

As I looked into those adorable brown eyes, I am quite sure that I saw Jesus looking back at me.  In the quiet of my heart, His voice spoke to remind me …

HE is my protector…

       HE is my defender….

                        HE is my provider…

                                    …for ALL that I need.

Somehow, I think these potatoes are going to taste a lot like humble pie…but ever SO SWEET!