| Sunny Side Up Dec. 10, 2003 �2003, Kathleen Gibson Following our extra-ordinary God A friend grew up down south. The name of her church--no kidding--was 'The Old Regular Baptist Church'. I love that. 'We're just regular ordinary people,' it seems to say. 'Take us or leave us, as you wish.' I'm not old or Baptist, but I'm regularly ordinary. Plain, too. People who meet me after reading my articles often say things like, "You're so�(and here they shift a little, as if they're afraid of offending me) ordinary!" Some seem disappointed, and I wish I could sprout an eye on the end of my long beak, just to make them feel better. I like ordinary. God likes 'ordinary'. He even uses 'ordinary'. Regular readers may recall me mentioning Esther. She responded to one of my articles published in her country, India. I wrote her back, and we've been corresponding regularly. Esther--native East Indian, Christian--lives in a large city. Though very well educated, she's not rich, famous, or stunning. She's ordinary--and worse. She's considered one of India's 'untouchables'. Though illegal, the caste system still has a tortuous grip on the social structure of much of India. Esther and her husband operate an orphanage, funded by donations. Esther has also begun a government-registered charitable work to try to improve the quality of life among the widows and poor women of her community. Men abandon their wives with impunity in much of India. There is no social network such as we are blessed with in Canada. Most of the women Esther works with earn between two and ten dollars a month. For that appalling sum, they labor long hours in surrounding rice paddies, or as servants in homes of the next caste above them. Their children, if they're 'lucky', do the same. Esther has sent photos of some of these women's homes. Canadian children make better forts in their backyards from cardboard and sticks, and the occasional brick. She's also sent sponsorship forms for thirty of these women. Their faces keep me awake sometimes. I agreed to sponsor one woman, and have done so. But God had other ideas. Step by step, he's led. Step by scary step, I've followed. Today I sit surrounded by paper. Passport. Visa application. Immunization forms. Fact and advice sheets for international travelers. Textbooks on culture and religion. My Bible. I'll arrive in India on Feb. 4. I'll see for myself the work of this ordinary woman. Perhaps touch the faces that sometimes keep me awake. That's ridiculous, you say. Perhaps. But in forty-plus years of living a faith-full life, I've learned that God has a reason for every seemingly ridiculous thing he asks. Our test is responding in faith and trust. So I'm filling in the forms. Doing the research. Trusting him to supply my needs. Near the end of March, you'll read the rest of this story. Meanwhile, please pray for Esther and me. We'll need those prayers. We're two very ordinary women. Following our extra-ordinary God. You can respond to this column at [email protected] |
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