In February, when we left Cincinnati for our trip to India it was cold and snowy. We arrived in Hyderabad where it was hot and sunny. A pretty dramatic difference!
We spent the night at one of the orphanages served by Back2Back India. They do not have a water heater or geyser. Since the water is stored in a tank on the roof, it varies with the outside temperature. The water can be pretty cold on winter mornings and extremely hot on summer afternoons.
Although the daytime temperature was above 90 degrees during our visit, my morning shower was a quite chilly.
The children living at the hostel have adapted to this and during the winter, they bathe in the afternoon after school when the water is warmer.
But typical American, I longed for my warm morning shower. That’s where I’m comfortable – lazily, mindlessly soaking in the warmth. In the cold shower, I was breathing rapidly and loudly, my heart was racing and I was focused on the reason I was there. True Christianity is not about being comfortable.
Revelation 3:15-17 (New International Version)
15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Serving with Back2Back in India is definitely out of my comfort zone – and not just the water temperature! The comforts of home that make me “warm” (lukewarm?) can keep me from giving God my wholehearted love and obedience. When I am warm and comfortable, I don’t realize how much I need Him. I miss out on the grace and riches He has to offer.
Serving in India provides me the opportunity to really experience God in the heat of it! To not just pray for the abused, abandoned and needy children of India, but to pray with them. To see God’s promise to provide for orphans and widows as they depend on Him for their everyday needs, things that I often take for granted.
There’s nothing like a cold shower to wake you up to the truth! Are you hot or cold?