Eating Humble Pie : )

This weekend Kari gave me a new devotional called Voices of the Faithful, compiled by Beth Moore, that contains devotions written by various missionaries around the world. I really liked the one from December 10 and I just had to share it with you.

Eating Humble Pie

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus . . . And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:5, 8 (NIV).

After arriving in Latvia (LAT-vee-ah), our family began the arduous process of learning Russian. Many missionaries refer to the Russian language as the language of heaven because it takes an eternity to learn it! Day after day, month after month we spoke on the level of a 1-year old. My husband often said it was like being a message in a bottle.

At the home of the national family, we eagerly wanted to communicate, but it was impossible. So we drank tea, ate pastries and smiled a lot.

We were so needy. We couldn't open a bank account, obtain a post office box or even order a meal without a national there to speak for us. We must have seemed like children to them as they taught us how to dress, eat their foods, how to ride a city bus and how to live in an arctic climate.

During my quiet time one day, I began to reflect upon Jesus. He knew all about the heavenly Father, yet He came as a tiny infant. Being the Word Himself, He had no words with which to communicate. He was utterly helpless, dependent upon Joseph and Mary for His needs. The ones He came to serve had to serve Him as He waited day after day, year after year in order to tell us about the Father.

We could identify with Jesus. The ones we came to serve ended up having to serve us, but in the process we learned dependence upon them and upon God for all our needs.

--Cathy, Central and Eastern Europe

Lord Jesus, You understand what it's like not to be able to communicate with others about the Father. May I learn from Your humility and ask that You make a way for me to clearly share the gospel with _____________________________. Father, please give missionaries who are learning a new language a miraculous ability to grasp the grammar and pronunciation while also gaining understanding. Amen.