A Hot Shower

This morning I had the amazing privilege of enjoying a hot shower.  Why so amazing? Well, I haven't had the luxury of a hot shower since Saturday and since today is Thursday, that is a long time.  The hot water heater needed a part replaced so for 4 days I endured cold showers each morning.

Those showers brought back memories of showers in  Managua while on a missions trip to Nicaragua this past February. Our room was about 70 degrees F or 21 degrees C in the morning when I hopped into the shower, so the cold water didn't feel very good.  I got in and out as quickly as possible.  There was some kind of gadget that was supposed to heat the water, but I couldn't get it to work and since I had heard stories of people getting shocked while using it, I wasn't too keen on trying it out while standing in water. While we were in Somotillo, the water was stored in a large black drum in the courtyard.  The blazing hot Nicaraguan sun headed it to a lovely tepid temperature, making it much more livable for a shower, but still no where near a hot shower.

This morning's shower was such a luxury compared to the showers I had in Nicaragua.  Most people I know would consider hot showers a necessity, not a luxury, but after experiencing life in Nicaragua for a week this past winter, I got a glimpse of how great we have it in North America.  We, as North Americans, take a lot of things for granted.

It is ironic that the hot water heater broke down now, since I am working on memorizing the book of James. I am only in the first chapter, but the first real thought James wrote down was about trials; situations that test us.

James 1:2-4 in The Message Bible says, "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."  I don't think James was thinking of cold showers when he wrote those words, but I know that the attitude I had while enduring those cold showers determined the type of day I had.

Did I consider the cold showers a gift? Nope, but my attitude could have been worse, so I guess I am growing bit by bit, trial by trial. I am on my way to becoming the woman God created me to be, and that puts a smile on my face.

I hope that the next time a cold shower is my reality, I will take a quick one with a grateful heart knowing many around the world don't even have the luxury of running water, much less hot running water.