Faith and Poverty

Today was totally awesome. We didn't get to visit yesterday, so we ended up going this morning, and we decided to interview the people we visited. They all lived in pretty small houses, and being in them once again reminded me just how much we have in America. They were all having a little trouble with their businesses, so I was impressed with all their attitudes towards life. None of them blamed God, and they were all happy.
The last person we visited was a lady named Seline. Her house was two rooms instead of one, so I thought that she was probably a little better off than most of the other people we had visited, and I didn't expect to get quite as much out of the visit as I did out of the others. I couldn't have been more off in my thinking.
The first thing she said that hit me was that she made about 150 shillings on a good day, just under two dollars. That is a good day. Then she started telling a story about her two year old son. She had left him sleeping on a bed for about an hour, and when she came back he was dead. She said he had been fine and playing with his friends before he had gone to sleep, so she had no reason to expect him to die then.
Instead of that incident making her mad at God, she let it build her faith. She said that God must have had a reason for taking him, and that the experience helped her realize that our days are numbered and we don't know when our time is, so live for God now. You might not get another chance. I was totally blown away. Hearing her talk, and seeing her smile, and seeing the her faith made me reevaluate how I look at things and handle problems. It also made me suddenly grateful for everything that I have, and gave me a very positive outlook on life. I have been given so much, and God has a plan and reason for everything. So why not go all out? Live life to the fullest!
We need to remind ourselves that everything happens for a reason. So what if things seem to be going wrong? God has a plan for everything and it is always for the good of those who love Him and are called According to his purposes. I know that I love Him, and I'm in Africa on a mission trip, so I also believe that I am called according to His purpose, so that means God is reaching down from heaven and planning my life for my good, even if it doesn't look like things are good.
Anyway, I hope that encourages you all as much as it encouraged me. I don't know if it can, because seeing these things always has more of an impact that hearing them, but maybe it will give you all some inspiration to live a little more freely and let God handle your life. He can take care of us, and He will.