WITH or WITHOUT

The above verse in Philippians has crossed my mind over the past couple of weeks several times. I would like to believe that I would be strong enough to say I am content in any situation; however, after walking along a refugee the past couple of weeks, I wonder how strong would I be?

For several weeks, I would see a particular lady at early morning prayer on Thursdays. She was obviously at the end of her pregnancy. It was the week that she was due when I found out she was a refugee from Nigeria, she didn't know anyone except a couple of people in the church, and this was her first baby. I would have never known these circumstances from her smile she had each time I saw her. She looked and sounded as if joy filled her life in every way.

When I began to investigate a little further, I found out that she was climbing 7 flights of stairs each time she went out, and she was to walk to the hospital when it was time for the baby. Her response was that it was good exercise. Once she had the baby, she was to travel to another town about an hour away for other instructions. I thought "oh, she'll go home and in a week or so, they'll move her." I was surprised to find out that she had a friend pack her belongings while she was in the hospital, and when she left the hospital she boarded a bus with her newborn and went to Portlaoise. 

I began to think of my own experiences with having a baby: how many visitors I had, how much baby stuff I received in showers, how all of our kids had a nursery, etc...My heart broke. This is not the first time I have seen lives with such little, and thought how blessed my life has been. Her story challenged me once again to be very grateful each and every day, and to share the goodness of God with others. 

God orchestrated this lady to go to Porlaoise where we were able to connect her with some other missionary friends and a great church. We are looking forward to hearing how she is doing over the next few months. 

To answer my question, how strong would I be? I know from Paul's next verse that we all can be strong in any situation...