Today was a hard day.
I didn't get much sleep last night and woke up early for work this morning. The other day I was asked to come in Monday morning at 7 am to do some training. Training = more hours = ability to pay bills and eat - this has been my mindset so I didn't mind not being able to sleep in (because being able to sleep pales in comparison to being able to live down here).
I work at Chick-fil-A. Currently, I'm training to work on the boards so I can prep and make food. This also means that I have a limited comprehension of what's being said. I worked with about 6 different people this morning and only one spoke fluent English. Due to some miscommunication between the owner and the on-duty manager, I was thrown into the mix and expected to preform like a fully trained boards member.
What resulted was me, completely useless, being told to do things in a language I could not comprehend.
An hour into my shift, I began to criticize and complain mentally. Within seconds my mind pulled out, "whatsoever state I am in, therewith to be content." (Phil 4:11) The next thing my my mental filing system pulled up was 1 Timothy 6:1, "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed." Personally, my pride didn't like either of those. My attitude was sour: "I'm not getting paid enough to work with these people. They don't speak English and they're rude. It doesn't matter what I do or how I do it, it's not good enough. They hate me."
A new thought occurred to me. This is a mini-nationals boot camp. This is a mini-mission field. If I can get along with my co-workers, then I'll be able to handle the mission field. More likely than not, I'll be in a country where the language is not my original one. The language barrier will make me feel inadequate. There will be misunderstanding and some people will hate me just for being American. I can't give up just because it's a little difficult. That's an insult to the name of Christ.
If I were to say, "God taught me about contentment today and I'll never struggle with it again! I love my job and the Latinas I work with so much!" I'd be lying. I feel defeated. I want to give up. But I know that there is a reason I'm where I'm at and learning what I'm learning. Maybe I could get one of the ladies to teach me Spanish?
cross posted from Filia Pacem
