It’s Summer here in Brazil and it’s hot. And when I say hot, I mean very hot. And, to make things worse, there’s no A/C. The fact that I’m still alive is a miracle within itself. Those of you who know me, know that I love A/C. That’s right, I love Air Conditioning. I’m not ashamed either and I’ll shout it from the mountaintops (just like that Ricola man in the commercial) “I love Air Conditioning!”
I use to get in a struggle for control over the thermostat with all the secretaries in the office (at the church I served at) over the temperature. The same thermostat that controlled their offices also controlled mine and it was a power struggle of hot vs cold year round. They use to keep it soooo hot that it was torturous. It literally felt like you were walking into a kiln (one of those things that fires ceramics) every time I would walk in the door. It was crazy-stupid how hot it was. So I would “accidentally” move the temp down, then they would move it up. I would bump it down and they’d bump it up. This would go on year round, every day. And it (the struggle for control) was actually at it’s peak in the Winter. It would get so hot in my office that I’d have to open the windows so the cool air would come in. Even though it was in the 20-30’s outside, with the windows being open, it still wouldn’t drop the inside temp of my office below 70. Crazy, huh? But I was the weird one, right?... whatever: P
Anyway, back to my love of Air Conditioning. I really love A/C and the only problem with that is that “we don’t have any!” That’s right, no A/C in the house, no A/C in the car, no A/C anywhere. What’s up with that? And it’s really hot. I’m totally convinced that we’ve GOT to be closer to the sun here or something... for real. I was born and raised in South Florida and I’m use to the sun and the heat but it’s different here. If anyone knows if we are closer to the sun, if that’s even possible, just let me know.
We live about 2 hours inland from the East Coast of Brazil, and since we’ve been isolated on the mountain for almost 5 months now (and we haven’t been anywhere together as a whole family except for ministry related events), we decided to drive the kids to the beach for a for a much needed break. So, we loaded-up 2 vehicles (our car and Brad and Carolyn’s van) and we (all 23 of us) made the trek through the mountains to the coast. When we got there it was absolutely beautiful. The water was so clear, the beach was really clean and there weren’t hardly any people at all. It was a perfect time to just get away for a few hours. It’s just what the family needed: )
But the other thing that was there was “the Sun.” That flaming ball of explosive gases, with it’s angry UV rays... just there hanging over our head all day. With the breeze blowing it didn’t seem that hot though. I could tell that I was getting a little burned so I put on some sunblock. It was SPF 30, it was waterproof and it was a name brand sunblock, so I thought everything was all-good. About 3 hours later everyone started looking at me funny and asking me if I needed to sit in the shade and if I felt burnt. Then when Maryssa walked up and said, “Dad, you look purple” I knew something was wrong. So I re-applied another thick layer of sunblock just to be safe. I felt pretty good about the massive amount of sunblock that I had lathered all over my body (not a pretty sight, but I didn’t know anybody and my family had to love me no matter how ridiculous I looked, right?). Then another hour or so went by and I could tell something was wrong. I could feel the burning of my skin with each passing moment. How could this be? I had so much sunblock on that I was surprised that I was getting any sun at all much less getting burned! So I looked at the sunblock bottle again just to be sure it wasn’t tanning accelerator or something crazy like that... and there it was, on the back of the bottle at the very bottom. Three little words that explained everything...“Made in Canada.” I wish I was making this up, but I’m not. Why would they even manufacture sunblock in Canada? I mean I can see if I was buying hockey pucks or a flannel shirt or a truckload of snowballs... but sunblock??? Do they even need sunblock in Canada? I mean, I’ve been to Canada in the Summer and it’s a beautiful country but the water was freezing cold when we tried to swim, we were burning wood at night to stay warm and I never remember feeling like I was in danger of the suns rays there. So why are they manufacturing something that they don’t need or use (or understand, obviously)? That would be like going to Jamaica to buy snowshoes. It doesn’t make sense and now I’m paying the price for it. I’m sitting here with one of the worst sunburns in the history of mankind and all because the sunblock I was using was from, you know... go ahead and say it with me C-A-N-A-D-A! Now I’m definitely not hatin’ on Canada. I loved it when I visited but man!... why did you have to manufacture something that you don’t understand??? Oh well (deep breath) I feel better now (except for the pain I’m feeling because of my sunburn).
What’s funny is that I do the same thing with God sometimes. Rather then going to him (because He knows everything from my beginning to my end) for direction or guidance on even the small stuff, I cop this attitude like “I got this God” and try and do things on my own and in my own strength because I think I have everything figured out. The problem with that is Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
“trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on you’re own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.”
I’m suppose to acknowledge God in ALL my ways and He promised He’d make my paths straight. Straight is way easier than crooked or rocky or just flat out jacked-up, so why do I trust in my own understanding, or even worse, somebody else’s? He knows everything and He knows where the best route is for me and my family. It’s the equivalent of going to Canada to buy my sunblock... it just doesn’t make sense. Canada doesn’t know about sunblock (see the pic up top... we’ll just call it exhibit A) and I don’t know what the best direction is for my life, He does. I know, I know, that analogy is stretching it a bit... sorry. But I’m so sunburnt right now, I can’t think clearly and I don’t even care. Haha. Bottom line is this... If you’re in the midst of making decisions for your life, always consult God and you won’t (pardon the pun) get burnt : )
Boycotting All Canadian Sun Products,
Jim
PS- The pics up top are of some of us at the beach. My father-in-law was the smart one... he stayed under an umbrella all day. Note to self: stay under umbrella= no sunburn. The picture of the sandwiches are of what it looks like to feed a bunch of kids at the beach (PB&J)... and that was just the first round: )
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