On Lightning, the Lord, and Randomness

Lightning and the Lord:
Yesterday morning, with my eyes still closed and my body still hours from moving out of my bed, I dreamed of flashing lights and my house shaking. This became reality as I grew conscious of the immensely powerful pounding of the rain. The lightning sparked so brightly, illuminating my bedroom and my eyes that were once clothed with darkness by closed eyelids. The thunder felt as if it were wrapping its arms around the casita and then taking action with an ever present surrounding force. All this provided me with thorough awareness that the Lord is near. Yes, I know daily and even moment to moment that Christ is always in me and by me and with me, but to actually feel the strength of nature and know that it is not just nature, but the Lord reminding me of His omnipotence, that shatters all faithlessness and brings me into the hopeful and majestic presence of Christ. My gratitude for the presence of the Lord in an unfamiliar place is great. But, in the midst of the rain being thrown from the sky like thousands of hoses squirting streams of water, I am settling in and loving the people. I am pushing aside my dislikes and issues with the culture and kicking back and chillin' with the Mexican people. Me gusta mucho. I like it a lot.

Randomness:
Rachel and I went shopping today and we took our time when it rained, getting pretty wet and gross in the streets. Some may have been bored by our meandering through the streets for hours and not really buying much until the end, but we were so relaxed about it all. Then, we went to a nearby orphanage in Tepic and hung out with some girls that Rachel mentors. It was super laid back and I like that. Lately I am content to not be constantly doing, doing, doing, but, rather, I am reveling in being an observer. I am happy to sit back and watch how the people interact, soak in their culture, reflect and ponder on my feelings about the experience, and listen to them speak even if I do not comprehend the content of their talk simply because I love the gorgeous flow of the Spanish language.

Culture here is uneducated, I feel. The whole no recycling thing is bad, but, really, if people even knew how to put their garbage in a trash can instead of on the ground that would be a start...but most people dont seem to understand why that is good or bad. Maybe it's a matter of values. Also, people ride around on their motorcycles helmetless or with a helmet not buckled...er, what's the point? I have worn a seat belt about three times since here cause there usually arent any and no one wears them. Babies ride on their parents' laps in the front seats pretty often, who needs a car seat anyways? But, I bet that there are not significantly more motorcycle deaths or infants killed in car accidents. It's just different values. Different ways of perceiving things, I guess.

It's too dirty for me here. I dont like it. But, I ask myself, ultimately, is it really about being dirty or clean? Uh, no. It's about serving the Lord and serving His people whether we are dirty, clean, or somewhere in between. I know how I would prefer to live, but my life is not my own and, therefore, my preferences are not always priority. Yes, I cannot wait for a bathtub, real water pressure, a furnished kitchen, MY bed, carpet instead of tile, a couch I am not afraid to sit on, a TV that does not receive channels that only play Mexican soap operas (novelas, which are the rage here) through a fork antenna, and quietness as I slumber at night (that brick cutting business behind us knows no rest), but these are trivial things in the perspective of life and of Christ's kingdom. God cares about my needs, be they large or petty, but I still like to take the greater perspective of His kingdom, rather than my own obsessive compulsive perfectionistic needs.