Returning to Thailand I have felt as if I never left but it has also felt a bit strange. For instance, not all of our previous housemates are coming back so we know things will never be quite the same as they were. Also, our house smells different, weird I know, but one of those things I noticed. I am easing back into Thai culture remembering to take off my shoes, wai people in greeting, and speak Thai again. I am adjusting to the heat (over 100 every day), the extreme levels of pollution, and being the farang (foreigner). I am thoroughly enjoying the mangoes (right now we have 25 in our house, minus the four we've already eaten this week), the cashew nut chicken, of course Khruu Ooy and my other friends. I'm grateful for my housemates in this land where we have to remind each other "Quit making me laugh I'm starting to sweat" as we sit stationary at our table with three fans pointed at us.
One of the things that rudely welcomed me back "home" is ants. For the last several days I have been irritated by ants and have thought, "I hate ants" every time I've seen one. Yesterday, I decided to force myself into positive thinking by saying something I was thankful for every time I saw an ant. That went pretty well. This morning as I went down the stairs in a bit of a daze to get my cereal before heading back up to my room (the coolest place in the house because it still held some of the air conditioning from the night). I encountered a winding trail of ants, more sporadic than usual, which makes the source difficult to determine. Now for anyone who has seen double wide trails of ants that stretch out several feet long, you'll understand why this is so frustrating. While crawling across our kitchen and bathroom floors (yes, it stretched across two rooms) with ant spray and a paper towel I thought, "These are way too many things to be thankful for so early in the morning." Needless to say ant spray and paper towels topped the list of what I was thankful for.
So, as I readjust to life on this side of the world with its good and bad I thank you for your prayers and support. My new theme verse for this year in Thailand is Psalms 37:3.
"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." This verse reminds me to trust the Lord even when things don't make sense, to do good whenever and wherever I can, dwell in this land so far from home, and to hunger for and be satisfied with the Lord's faithfulness to me every step of the way.
You have such good thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI like the phrase from the verse "feed on His faithfulness"
You have found so many things to be positive about too!