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Conviction Attained on Vacation (I’m Still a Work in Progress)

By August 9, 2008Church, God, Missions

I like the fact that God still has me under construction and that I’m not afraid to learn.  That part of me was beneficial recently as God had a good lesson for me to learn about my true heart.

As you may have seen from other blog posts my wife and I spent a week in the Northwest and Canada.  We visited all the beautiful scenic places that most tourists do in that part of the world.  I had a somewhat convicting experience at a specific visit to Lake Moraine, Canada.  This is unquestionably one of the most beautiful places in the world.  I have been many places, but nothing captures God’s creation glory any more than this place. 

Of course, one thing that comes along with such scenic beauty is that it is well known for scenic beauty.  People from around the world come just to get a glimpse of what the place has to offer visually.  On the particular day we went to Lake Moraine there must have been thousands of tourists, cameras in hand, lined up for a chance to take home some of the beauty.  It seemed at the time that there were more Asian people proportionally than any other group of people. 

I hate to admit this, because it proves there is still shallowness in my heart, but an evil thought went through my mind while standing lakeside waiting for my wife’s photo opportunity time.  I thought to myself, “Why are all these foreigners taking up all this space when I’m trying to get a picture?”  That’s when my foolishness became apparent to me.  I realized that I, too, was a foreigner.  I’m not Canadian, yet I was taking full advantage of the benefits of the Canadian National Park system.  I was no different than the Asians who were there.  We were all visitors to a country that was not our own. 

That experience has hopefully taught me a valuable lesson about how I treat people who are “foreigners” in my own country.  I hope so at least. Do I see others as an inconvenience to me, depending on how “in the way” they are of my doing what I want to do?  Or do I see people as God sees them; as His creation, with equal access to the throne of God through His Son Jesus Christ? 

Okay, I’ve been convicted of prejudice inside of me.  If you are still reading at this point, now would be a good time to take the focus off my shortcomings and consider your own. 

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Ron Edmondson

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  • Renee Garcia says:

    HA! So just last night I made the observation (which is true for all intents and purposes) that Asians seem to stare more at Kennedy… and I don’t mean just a “oh my goodness what happened to her” stare or a “that poor little girl” stare but RUDE, GLARING, LONG stares. And while it’s true (not for all of course, but most) I feel HORRIBLE for thinking it. So there’s my confession for the day! LOL

    See you at church tomorrow… we’re going to bring Kennedy and pray she will be good during the service… or we’ll take her out to the lobby! Either way I hope we get a chance to say hello!