Calluses

It is very common here to have gross feet.  Most people spend a good part of their days barefoot and the ground is always dirty.  You can often look at people’s feet and tell how long they have been living in Indonesia.  Kids that grew up here have feet that don’t even look like American feet.  They are a lot wider and the ankles and toes are thicker.  I am sure this sounds very weird, but there is a reason I am telling you this.  I decided that my feet were going to stay American looking even though I am barefoot all day every day. So a few days ago, I spent some time scrubbing them with a pumice stone getting all the rough edges off and rubbing them with cream to make them smooth.  It worked great when I was sitting down, but as soon as I got up to walk on our tile floor, I was slipping all over the place.  It was quite comical, but not very practical.

I need those calluses.  I need those rough spots.  They help me get a grip-literally.  It is the same thing with life.  The mistakes we make, the lessons learned are like calluses on the “sole” of our life.  Illnesses, trials, financial struggles, infertility, stress, joblessness, betrayals…those are the things that make a rough spot, or callus, over where we were tender.  Yet, if we didn’t have those spots, it would be so easy to slide our way into a self-centered life of ease.  “Look at me!  Look at how great I am!”  The rough spots take the spotlight off of us, and help us to focus on God.  We realize that we can’t get through life without Him.

Think about that the next time you notice a callus on your hands or feet.  Thank God for the “rough spots” He has put in your life.  They are there for a reason!

Love you-

Rachel

(Speaking of rough spots, continue to pray for me and this dengue fever.  It is still hanging on, more than I thought it would at this point.  October 20^th was when I first got malaria and shortly after that I contracted dengue.  It has been almost 7 weeks.  I still have a problem with head and body aches, an incredible amount of fatigue, low energy, nausea, eye pain, joint weakness, and it is still messing with my brain, speech, and thought processing.  I know it is for a reason, and I don’t want to rush through this time of healing without trying to learn all the lessons I can in the process.  Pray that I don’t get discouraged.  Thanks!)