crossing the divide

My first few weeks here have been awesome! I have loved seeing a different country and getting to experience so many new, awesome things! The kids are full of boundless energy and they seem to be able to make a game up out of thin air! However, one of the biggest things that I have noticed is the language divide. Thai is such a beautiful language and I love listening to them talk to each other, but it does make communication between myself and them a bit difficult at times. I can get their wide-eyed attention and tell them not to put their feet in the water and they’ll nod emphatically and say, “Yes Pii Shelby!”. Then they will smile at me with their big smiles, turn around, and plop both feet back in the water. All I can do is smile and shake my head because they obviously did not understand a word that I just said. This is typically a humorous situation for me, but it can get frustrating.

As I was thinking about this situation more today, I realized a parallel in my own life. Often times I feel disconnected from God; I don’t trust myself to hear Him so I give up and ask for signs. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that there is a time and a place to ask for signs, but I have found myself depending on them too much. I think to myself that because it is impossible for me to hear God audibly that I will just ask for a sign to happen with something tangible. But what if that was unnecessary? What if there was just a communication divide? What if I am trying to put God in a little box and say, “This is how you need to speak to me because this is how I will hear you and know what you want me to do.”? I think that I can sometimes forget that I am praying and serving the God who made me in the beginning and who formed my ears; if He could give me hearing to begin with, then why couldn’t He change my hearing and put me in tune with His frequency? Now the question is, will I let Him change me? Yes, sometimes God has spoken to me in a way that I have asked Him to, but I believe that He wants to show me a more beautiful, more broad language than I could ever imagine. Sometimes talking to the kids here seems impossible because of the language divide. There have been, and will be, many misunderstandings, humorous happenstances, and frustrating instances. This is a journey, but so is my walk with God. As I work on my Thai, I am also going to work on my communication heavenward; especially the listening part. Will you join me?