Windshield Washers

Here, in the capital city of Paraguay, there are thousands of kids trying to get as much money as they can in order to eat. Well, that is what they tell everyone who gives them money. Many of them are like the two young girls pictured here. They buy these tools to wash your window. I remember how easy it was to pull up to a gas station, get out and start filling up the car, go to the bucket, and pull out the window cleaner to wash and clean the windshield. Here, many kids and some adults have taken this easy job in the States as their personal job. Most people give them from 300 to 500 Guaranies (about 10 cents). Can you imagine how many windshields that would take to buy a happy meal?

The other day, I was driving downtown when two men jumped up from the curb and just started washing my windshield without asking for permission. I don't really like that. I don't mind letting them wash the windshield. All they had to do was ask permission. These two "gentleman" were very forceful, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. I am the "owner" of our vehicle (technically, Speed-the-Light owns it, but they didn't know that). Anyway, they wouldn't listen to the owner, and they went ahead and washed the windshield. So, I gave them the going rate, on the lower end. I gave them 300 Guaranies.

A few days later, I pulled up to an intersection. Two young men asked to watch my windshield. I allowed them to do it because they asked. I gave them my permission, and when they were done, I gave them each 1,000 Guaranies (about 25 cents). I felt more generous when I, as the "owner," was given the opportunity to allow them to wash the windshield of my vehicle.

As I thought more about this, I wondered what God thinks when we just go ahead and do something without asking His permission. I learned, durning our itineration, that I can do nothing with Him. We could not raise the support we needed without His help. In fact, once I gave it all to Him, our support cam in and we left for the mission field. I am still learning to trust Him, completely, with everything. It's kind of like the windshield washers. Most of the time, if they would just ask the OWNER, He would provide. 

I haven't studied doctrine enough to know if this is true or not. This is just my thoughts, but I was just wondering. How much more would God bless us if we did the things He asked us to do? You know, love God, love others (especially, our brothers and sisters in Christ). How much more can God bless us when we do things with His permission? I believe that when we do the things that God allows us to do, the end result will always be better than if we just go head and do something without His permission.

Blessings to all,

Charley