In January, Ken and I spent a week in Thailand. Since Ken is a board member for IGo, (Institute for Global Opportunities), we were invited to attend the IGo Board & Staff Retreat held "on-site" this year. (after two years of planning and cancellation) It was our privilege to attend the several-day meeting in a gorgeous setting: a resort called Horizon Village, located near Chiang Mai.
Since it was our third visit to Thailand, we knew a little more what to expect this time upon our arrival. We welcomed the sight of the country's abundant foliage and brilliant flowers, heard the friendly sah-wah-dee greetings singsonged to friends and strangers alike, and savored the taste of fruit that seemed to have been picked from its natural habitat mere minutes before landing on the buffet line or our serving plates.
We also expected to encounter some heat - both in the outdoor temperature and in the spiciness of the food. The degree of warmth in the air was perfect. I could easily tolerate - yes, even revel in - the lovely sunny weather we experienced. The times that I stood out in direct sunshine at midday got a little sweatin' warm, I'll admit, but that situation was easily remedied by simply moving into the shade.
The spicy heat of some Thai food dishes still took me by surprise, though. I found myself needing to implement something my son had taught me long ago - a practice he had learned from an uncle who grew up in El Salvador. The correct way to enjoy spicy foods, my son told me, is to embrace the heat in the moment of encounter. My understanding of the term "embrace the heat" is that one should not resist or merely tolerate the level of zing, but actually allow the heat to accentuate the flavors of the food and heighten the meal experience as a whole.
Since our trip, I've been thinking some more about the phrase "embrace the heat", and wondering if it can apply to one's circumstances in life, as well. If "heat" describes the hard experiences I face, the difficult and painful things that happen to me, is there a way that my life can be enriched by embracing those times?
This seems counterintuitive to me. I know that it's possible for me to look back after coming through a season of heat, (although maybe I'm still panting at the mouth and wiping watery eyes and sweating brow) and see that the experience has brought about some good, but how can I embrace it (get close enough to the pain to take it in) while still in the midst of the trial? Is it even possible for someone like me, who comes with a propensity for wanting out of unpleasant things as soon as I detect them?
After arriving at the resort in Thailand, for instance, how was I supposed to graciously accept the annoyances of jet lag, let alone embrace them? And how could I have enriched my restless hours on a very unyielding mattress by getting up close and cozy with anxiety (that sinister grey beast invading the room upon my reading a 3:00am phone message that one of our preemie twin granddaughters was very sick with a lung infection)? I can only tell you that it does not come naturally for me to embrace the heat when I encounter it on my plate.
And I certainly was not thinking enrichment or heightening of experience when I got sick on the first leg of our journey home from Thailand. The fatigue and "kinda weird" feeling I noticed coming over me while we waited in line at the Chiang Mai airport culminated in definite illness on the 6-hour flight to Seoul, South Korea.
Sitting on the plane several hours into the flight, I woke up from the sleep of exhaustion feeling extremely weak and fainty. The lightheadedness (I don't know why it's called that, when really, it is dark and heavy) kept pulling me down and back into oblivion and releasing me out again to consciousness and then - - horrors of helplessness, I saw actual barf dribbled down the front of my dress! Immediately I knew the stuff was mine, and that it had gotten there without my conscious knowledge or permission. Sometimes life's circumstances are just plain nasty and in that moment, I had not the frame of mind and body to call any such thing enriching or flavorful.
In the minutes that followed, a kind stewardess brought me some wet wipes, my stomach settled down enough that I could start to get more sleep, and my fainty feeling subsided considerably. A few hours later, I was able to walk off the plane unaided, which surely was answer to a prayer that I really hadn't had much umph to put into words.
It was several days later until I felt completely well from my bout of food poisoning or whatever it was. At around the same time, our tiny granddaughter's situation with her infected lungs began to improve considerably, bringing great relief to all of us. Exactly how the episodes of "heat" enriched our Thailand trip was hard to say in the moments they were happening, and I'm not sure I know even now.
Maybe they were meant to highlight the blessings of community. The interest and concern of our IGo Board and Staff friends for our preemie grandchildren meant so much to us as we shared updates/prayer requests with them. And finding out that others in our group were smitten with the same sudden illness on their way home evoked my sympathy for them and somehow made my recovering a little more bearable.
Maybe the times of heat made the cooler, more ordinary and comfortable times more noticeable and appreciated. Perhaps embracing the total experience, a blending of the great and the not so great, is what allows me to look back on the trip and say what a rich gift it was.
I agree with Sarah Breathnach, who says in her "Simple Abundance" book, "Usually we don't know why something has occurred and we won't until there's enough distance to take a backward glance...blessing whatever vexes us is the spiritual surrender that can change even troublesome situations for the better...writing it down (acknowledging our blessings) focuses our attention on the abundance already within our grasp and makes it real."
Embracing the heat in my life - instead of bracing against it - means I don't try to convince myself things are not hot when they are. It means I acknowledge that sometimes circumstances do pack some heat and I would benefit from paying attention to the blend of flavors and how this hard thing can heighten the taste of the life experiences that it graces.
I feel like I speak of this glibly, though, when I look around and see the fiery seasons others are encountering currently. One friend nurses her husband while slowly losing him to Lewy Body dementia, another is undergoing chemo treatments for cancer, still others suffer conditions of body and mind that are debilitating and chronic. Someone else is grieving choices made by a daughter who recently left her spouse. A month ago, my own sister-in-law lost her husband to sudden death from a heart attack, following his dealing with a malignant brain tumor. I can almost see these friends' plates sizzling, and I wonder if they feel like someone who has unsuspectingly bitten into a pepper hot enough to make them altogether lose their appetite for the rest of the meal.
Maybe that's how Paul felt, too, when he prayed three times for his thorny difficulty (whatever it was) to be removed. When it wasn't, it seems like he accepted (embraced?) the infirmity and received the grace of Jesus, realizing that glory could come from the blending of his own weakness and the strength of Christ.
I like the way the Amplified Bible expands the story: "But He said to me, 'My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.' Therefore I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!" 2 Corinthians 12:9
Jesus is our greatest example to follow in embracing the heat. On the cross, He acknowledged excruciation in body, soul, and spirit. Under the weight of our sin, He endured the cross, treated its shame as nothing, and accepted death because of the joy that was in the life beyond it. No one can understand us as intimately as this God who became one of us so that we may become one of His. What better Companion is there for us in embracing all of life?
The words from a song* resonate with me as they depict us on a journey, like the unsuspecting disciples with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, walking "doubtful and dreading, blinded by sadness" and experiencing "slowness of heart". The song goes on to remind us that "yet Christ walks with us, ever awaiting our invitation: Stay, do not part."
In the heat, I want to embrace Him.
* "Day of Arising", by Susan Palo Cherwien
A sampling of the fresh and flavorful fruit of Thailand.
Hibiscus showing off its brilliance in January.
This friendly vendor makes the best smoothies in the market, so we were told,
and so we now believe after tasting them for ourselves.
Gorgeous views at Horizon Village, where the IGo Board and Staff Retreat was held.
IGo Board members and their spouses, L to R: Merle & Edith Burkholder,
Dayton & Judy Skrivseth, Val & Barb Yoder, Carl & Grace Heatwole,
Lowell & Judy Miller, Dave & Ellie Yoder, Justin & Laura Zimmerman,
Ryan & Amy Huber, Ken & Danette Martin, Josh Wagler (missing: Hannah)
[📷- Clinton Weaver]
Women's share-and-get-acquainted time during one of the sessions.
A shopping trip included browsing several fabric stores in Chiang Mai.
Sometimes the best discussions happened on the back of the songtow.
We enjoyed informal times of visiting with IGo staff members,
such as the evening spent in Tim & Linda Stoltzfus's home.
I'm so grateful to God that Ken & I were able to go on the Thailand trip together.
I certainly had times of doubt beforehand that everything would work out,
especially with the early arrivals of the preemie grandbabies,
but the timing ended up being very workable. Thank you, Jesus!
Our very sick granddaughter Eva, as she was when we were over in Thailand.
Eva, as she is now. (Isn't Jesus amazing?)
Eva's twin Eleanor, showing how she can manage breathing
completely on her own - at least for a little while.
Both girls are making great strides in their progress
toward the goal of going home from the hospital.
Hopefully in the next week or two, they'll be released.
The twins side by side for the first time since their birth two months prior.
I wonder what they thought of this special treat.
And while we're talking babies, here's a most precious lapful of them.
The triplets [L to R: Jude, Piper, Quinn] are growing chubby
and are delighting us with their responsiveness.
No chuckles or coos that I've heard yet, but certainly winning smiles!
[📷- Joy Martin]
