Surviving the Heat

Today was a strange weather day. It's the middle of the dry season, and all of a sudden it opened up and poured...for like 5 minutes. And it's nearing the end of the cold season, but I would call it anything but cold right now. (I've decided that the seasons here should really be named hot and hotter.) Weather.com says that the temp is in the upper 80s but feels like the mid 90s. I'm gonna bet they are right!

A short bike ride leaves me drenched with sweat. My room feels like an oven. It seriously felt like I was melting on the moto coming home from the orphanage the other day. The temperature just keeps rising. And the worst part? We aren't in the hot season yet.

I have been told that April here is just torture. A heat the likes of which I have never experienced. And since it's during the dry season, there's no rain to offer relief. Just hot. All the time.

How's that for a look into the future? Many of those who have been here a while tell me how much I am not going to be able to stand it. And, sometimes I catch a hint of a smirk when they say that. Yep, that makes it better.

I much prefer the warm weather. I am not sad at all to have missed the Ohio winter. But...I am not sure I want to face April in Cambodia.

Here's the thing: I don't have a choice. It's coming whether I want it to or not.

It's not often that I get forewarning of a difficult situation. Usually, I just find myself smack dab in the middle of it, doing my best to find the way out. And so, I realized, I have two options: I can either try to escape from it or do my best to prepare for it. And seeing as how I don't think I'll be getting on a plane anytime soon, I think it's gonna be the latter. (If I'm going to be honest, I've tried the escape route many a time. It doesn't work. I just end up right back where I started, a little worse for the wear and still facing the impending difficulty. So glad I'm finally learning that. I hope.)

So here's what came to mind today...

• Ignore the naysayers...It doesn't take too many times to hear, "You're not going to be able to handle it" until I start thinking to myself, "I'm not going to be able to handle it." What voice am I going to listen to? The one that speaks discouragement and doubt or the One that speaks peace, comfort, and encouragement to my soul? What I focus on is what I start believing is the way I start living. (John 14:27, John 16:33)

• Get the sunscreen ready...By now, I have been in enough hot environments to know what I need in order to stay healthy and protected. Why wait until the heat is turned all the way up to get ready? What do I need to have at my disposal in order to be prepared for the inevitable troubling times that life has to offer? (Ephesians 6)

• Drink plenty of water...The more water I sweat out, the more I have to pour in. Every day consumption of life-giving water is important, but even more so when the day-to-day events seem to drain every ounce of energy that I have. (Psalm 119:28-32)

• It's ok to pray for rain...Five-minute showers of relief are sometimes just enough to keep me going. Those little unexpected gifts of refreshment remind me that my words are being heard and He is in control. He longs to be gracious to me, and He knows what will speak the most to my heart. (Isaiah 30:18)

• Rest in the shade...often...Sometimes when it gets unbearably hot, the only thing that I have energy to do is to just stop and stand firm...to rest in His grace and mercy until I can start moving once again. (Psalm 57:1)

• Remember, the cold season is coming...Though it may seem interminable, the heat will come to an end. It always does. (Psalm 116: 7-8)

I don't look forward to those tough times. Nobody does. But usually, I can look back and see that my life was better for it.


On another note: Thank you for praying for Sony. She was moved back home today from the clinic. Please continue to pray for complete healing.

And thank you for praying for my visa. My passport has been sitting in a government office for the past 2 and a half weeks. But, just today, I received it - complete with a 1-year visa with multiple entries!!!