I am no longer what I would call a small person. I was, before I had 35 years worth of steroids etc. but now, not-so-much. It can be difficult for people of my size, because this world is not actually designed for bigger people. We often have to hire Barnum and Bailey tents if we want to go out and still be decently covered! Those ridiculous things are often covered in very large, bright red hibiscus flowers to make sure bigger people don’t get lost in the crowd. Ho-hum!

When we go into caravan parks to deliver bibles etc. if I go with hubby he has to get the wheelchair out, help me into it, and then drag me across the many stones that often inhabit country car parks … all that makes for a great massage, and a few bruises! We do this kind of thing a few times a day and so now I’m the designated prayer warrior in the car. This means I don’t actually meet many people.

The places we stay in are not always advantageous to the disabled either. When we travel — chairs, toilets, even beds are all too low. I can get INTO them, but then I can’t get OUT again — not unless I want to break hubby’s back, and that seems a bit extreme. So he packs a heap of extension lifts for the “I’m almost sitting on the floor furniture.” Even disabled units don’t seem to have been designed by disabled people. There are toilets where your knees almost touch the opposite wall – it can be a bit squishy.

In a home shower you may notice there is quite a nice space for one person, or even for a couple of little people. But, it is a whole other ball game to fit in a quite chubby person, plus a carer to help them, plus a shower chair … it’s a bit like trying to shower in a thimble! The taps in the shower are always in the wrong place, and someone’s back will eventually end up bumping into the hot and cold controls.😳 Bathrooms are always much too small and then there is that dratted slippery shower floor… sigh…

I don’t much like slippery floors because I am not a fan of falling down. I did that last year and it was an abysmal failure. Getting up again is a whole other tragic long-winded story, that very nearly involved a crane! Meanwhile the car we’ve hired to tour about in, is like … ten centimetres off the ground, but it does have wheels and an engine … a-n-d  — did I mention that the seats are almost on the ground?!? Yes really. Another inch, Mr Manufacturer, would have really helped! I think I could have managed if the car was a Lamborghini.. but… alas!! Anyway a low-slung car makes getting in and out quite a laugh-riot for the disabled and their knees.

The other day we needed to use a McDonald’s toilet – they are always clean and tidy. We had to wait five minutes, with me propped up against a wall, because an able-bodied person had decided it wouldn’t matter if they used the disabled toilet. Hmmm… ! Meanwhile, it looked like this toilet had suffered from an internal explosion. It seemed to have had a fit, flinging toilet paper etc. everywhere. Fortunately we managed to find some that wasn’t floor decoration. 

One town looked rather like its primary industry was producing angry and aggressive youth. And their fav hang-out was … that very same McDonalds – lucky us! We smiled, and-moved-on-very-quickly.There were about 50 young people hanging around. So I’m prayer-thinking to myself: “I’m gunna have to run, but I can’t run, so please protect us Lord. Dear God please help these kids to find jobs and end up responsible citizens!” Amen! By the way, the disabled park was light years away from the actual building. Not quite sure how that one works.

However, the place we have been staying at for a couple of days, is very scenic. I don’t remember when we have seen so many cockatoos, mobs of kangaroos, deer, ducks, and all sorts and varieties of other birds. Even though there has been a bushfire through here recently the scenery is pretty. Apparently visitors don’t enjoy burnt  Aussie bush for their surroundings on their holidays so this park is almost empty in peak season. Sad for the owners, who want to make living. It is also very, very quiet. We have little WiFi or TV service so you get to sit about in silence a lot! 

Stuff happens to us all the time — and it prompts us to live by the scripture:”I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”  But depending on the day and how we got out of bed …we can choose to whine and whinge!  Thank you Jesus for helping us all! May God truly bless all the lovely people who are praying for us. My point is simply sometimes you will learn to suffer long. Remember – Jesus slept by the roadside and went without food… He was so tired once … He slept in a violently rocking boat!

If you think you might want to be a missionary, and let’s face it, it is not the most popular job ever — then you need to be aware that heaps of untimely, inconvenient, annoying stuff is guaranteed to get your old self rumbling away. But, bonus buy, those things will help you to learn how to rely upon Jesus! Finally, I wanted to make it clear that living for Him is always costly, no matter where you are. So, if things are hard at your house, that does not mean you are doing it wrong —trouble is often part of the process… Bye for now 👋