We're Not That Different in the End

A lot has changed in my life over the last couple of weeks. I up and moved to Page, Arizona where I will be teaching 2nd grade in a school with 60% Navajo students. I haven't really had experience with Navajos, but I love learning about different cultures and am excited about the new adventure. Today I was talking to a friend who told me of a trip he took with a service group to a Navajo reservation. He related how there were gang-type groups of Native Americans who would graffiti the walls and how the government had paid money for all of the walls to be repainted every year. That several years previous, the government had given them the materials necessary to build fences and none of the places had fences. How they wouldn't get up and work to fix anything. Instead they sat around complaining about what they didn't have while the volunteers worked hard to get them what they felt they needed. Now I'm not saying Navajos are lazy and ungrateful, I haven't met any yet that are and I know that there are all types in all cultures. But, I began to think about what he told me, I realized that we are not immune from that type of behavior. The Lord gives us everything we need to create a successful and joyful life yet, there are times when we sit there and complain about what we don't have and how we deserve more. We're the ones sitting, watching and expecting the Lord to do all the work while we reap the benefits. Everything we have comes from the Lord and we don't always choose to focus on what we have or the fact the Lord has helped us obtain it. Instead we're wondering why certain things have or haven't happened in our lives. I told this friend that some of the Navajo here don't even have running water and he responded, "I don't feel sorry for them, they can get it if they want to." It made me wonder if I'm missing out on any blessings that are available to me because of my stubbornness. The Lord has promised us a lot more than running water if we but come unto Him, are we doing our small part to obtain it? If I by chance, happen to meet a Navajo who is like me friend described, I'll be able to relate. Because in the end, we're not all that different.