Jealousy...."I want what she has!"

I discovered Allison Vesterfelt’s blog “Learning to Live with Less” from a Facebook friend who shared her recent blog titled “Can Jealousy be Healthy?” The title peaked my interest because we actually had just talked about feelings of jealousy last night in our Kisses from Katie group at church. In fact, the same thing Allison said was said by several of our ladies “I want what she has.” What is that you ask?

Allison went on a mission trip to Guatemala with Food for the Hungry, she said one thing she noticed they had that we don’t have is, laser focus. She said, “Absolutely no confusion about their purpose in life. Their purpose is right in front of them. Harvest the crops. Fetch the water. Feed our children.” She confesses that her observation may be “insensitive” since their focus is around meeting basic needs, I didn't think so...and this is where Katy Davis steps into this blog post.

Katy Davis is a young 24 year old, who at the age of 19, moved to Uganda and became a mom to 13 Uganda girls. Katy speaks about feeling overwhelmed by the enormous amount of need around her and it feeling like she was trying to empty the ocean with an eyedropper. In the midst of the enormous need she said one thing she learned among MANY things, is that she had one purpose, in Uganda and in life, and that was to love and she could ask for no greater assignment.

Katy also speaks about forever being ruined for comfort, convenience and luxury, preferring instead challenge, sacrifice, and risking everything to do something she believes in. However, she said if she had to summarize in one word her time in Uganda, it would be contradiction. That contradiction is based on the huge disparities of physical and spiritual life from Uganda to America. Many times she refers to being so spiritually wealthy in a land of physical poverty; and being spiritually poor in a land of physical wealth. It is a must read!

Now let’s step back into my little world. I am so blessed to lead a ladies group on Sunday nights around the book “Kisses from Katie”. I wouldn’t call it a book club, because we do get in the Word, we pray, and we memorize scriptures. As the leader, I don’t ever want any book to take priority over the Word of God, because the Word alone is infallible, it is sufficient, and it does not come back void!

So this past Sunday night, as we huddled around “Katie’s first room in Uganda” which is actually just a 5 x 8 rug in the youth room which is actually bigger than Katie’s first room in Uganda, a three-by-six feet room. That simple 5 x 8 rug serves as a reminder of Katie’s one word summary, contradiction. We have so much in America, even in poverty.

Huddling around “Katy’s room” also provides more intimate discussions. I love that it is a safe environment to share our hearts, our hopes and struggles. A place to pray together and for each other as we are transparent with one another about where we are spiritually, physically and emotionally. It is so exciting to see God changing hearts and lives right before my eyes, especially when it is yours! My personal transformation in the physical realm of “wants” is happening. I’ve turned away from many purchases in the past month not because we didn’t have the money; but because it truly wasn’t a need and we already have so much. As I told the ladies last night, for me, God has stretched me further this past year than I ever thought was possible; but I serve a God of all things possible. While my stretching is nothing of significance, like losing a child or a spouse, it has still been a difficult two years for me. When you are stripped bare to nothing, when you can’t do a thing but fall exhausted at the feet of Jesus, His grace will be sufficient for you, for His strength is made perfect in our weakness. I want to live in this land of inadequacy; because when I am weak, He is strong. One purpose...laser focus...Him alone.

 ⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

^{Colossians 2:6-15}