Sometimes I wonder if I’m in the right place.  There are so many challenges with helping my refugee friends.  If it isn’t one struggle it’s another.  Seemingly simple tasks end up taking hours or days and often drag out into additional tasks. It can feel like I am stuck inside of that book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff.

The idea behind this favorite children’s book of mine goes something like this:  If you give a mouse a cookie, he will want some milk to go with it.  If you give him milk with his cookie, then he will want you to put in a movie.  If you put in a movie then he will want popcorn.  The story goes on and on as the needs of this mouse grow and grow and begin to take up all of your time and energy.

I had to learn the hard way that helping refugee friends to meet their needs is never-ending.  Every time I would attempt to do something and check it off the list, it would lead to something else that needed to be done.  And each day there were new refugee needs that would require the cycle to begin.  While I would never want to refer to my sweet friends as mice, the nature of what seems to be happening is similar to the book I’m describing. If I make a doctor appointment for a friend, then they will need a ride to the doctor.  If I give them a ride, then I’ll need to stick around to help translate with the doctor.  If I stay at the doctor, then I will be given a prescription to fill.  If I drop of the prescription, then I will need wait on it and be ready to work with the insurance company and drug store to be sure that the prescription can be paid for.  If we are waiting at the drug store, then there will be groceries that we will need.  If we begin grocery shopping we will have to check our food stamp balance.  If we need to check our food stamp balance we will have to dig in our purse to find a phone and pin number.

I’m not complaining as it may sound.  I guess I’m just stating some facts.  It is important for Asha’s Refuge volunteers to learn very quickly that the crisis type situations that our friends may be in are not our crisis situations so we can remain calm as we navigate through each days task.  It will need to be Christ in us to help us accomplish calm in the storms.  I believe that if we can maintain our sanity, patience, joy and a smile then it will be a blessing to our friends and really show the light of Christ within us.  Crisis, chaotic and difficult situations will always occur while working with our friends.  That seems to be inevitable.

Oh, Lord, please help us to never carry ourselves in a manner that we would seem put out and overwhelmed to our friends.  Of course I’m in the right place!  Thank You for showing me Isaiah 42:1-9.  As we serve, please continue to give us strength, time, patience, love, peace, wisdom and joy to overflowing.  May Your glory (and not me) be seen by all people of all kinds of nations through me whom You have made for such a time as this.