Blessings and sorrow..

Here's a bit of what I wrote on a thank you today:

"My gratitude comes tinged with a large amount of grief due to intense situations I’m praying for at this time.

• I’m thankful for living in a peaceful country, as I pray for the horrible situation that continues to spiral downward in Haiti.
• I’m thankful for plumbing and safe drinking water, while praying for rain as Zambia declared a national disaster this week due to drought conditions now near the end of the normal rainy season. 
• I’m thankful for health while praying for those fighting cancer, disease, and illness.
• I’m thankful for inner peace even as I pray for those struggling with anxiety, depression, unforgiveness, bitterness, fear, and so much more.
• I’m thankful for my faith even as I pray for those who’s faith unraveled or never yet has grown."

 Living between worlds can be a very hard, very blessed, and very confusing place to be.

I'm very aware of the severe drought that Cory blogged about last time and its effects:

1. People need water to drink to live. The water levels in the wells are already dropping. I'm thankful
   we: have running water; have a UV purification system; can store water when the power is on.
2. Gardens and fields need water to produce food. I can afford to buy food even if harvests fail because we can't water the trees and plants. We can afford to buy a drum to store water to protect the trees in the nursery.
3. Water in bathrooms. Our house has running water. I'm thankful Cory could buy some parts to get our shower running again. I"m always surprised at how little water I can shower and wash my hair with when limited. I praise the Lord when turning on the faucets. [And I smile when I think how one of our children didn't know until college that most folks in the USA didn't take 'navy' showers {turn on, get wet, turn off, soap up, turn on, rapidly rinse off, turn off].
4. Increased prayers. I pray for rain, the well, water table, and power.
5. Most of the electric in Southern Zambia is provided by hydropower....therefore we anticipate soon having scheduled 8 hour daily times without power. While I"m very aware that needing electricity is a '1st world' issue I'm grateful for the power and again getting in the habit of making sure computers, kindles, phones, battery back up, internet router are all charged when the power is on. 

So the adjustment continues...grateful for what I have and adjusting to life without some of my USA accustomed blessings. 

Learning to lament and acknowledging the whole range of my feelings.

Always ending in praise to my heavenly Father for His faithfulness and the hope and peace I find from trusting Him in all things.