The Dominican Republic has beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and the most majestic blue skies I’ve ever seen. But that isn’t all. The island is also the home to millions of mosquitoes. According to Google, there are 17,820,000,000,000,000 mosquitoes living on this earth, and it seems like most of them are in the Dominican.
I lived in Buffalo, New York my entire life so I remember getting bit by a little flying demon exactly five times in 27 years. So when I moved to the land of the mosquitoes, I attempted to stop them from sucking my blood and failed miserably. They are everywhere. They smell my blood from miles away. They find the small space where the fan doesn’t blow on my arm at night and bite me.
Two weeks ago, I cried because a mosquito bit the top of my foot and half my foot swelled. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but my skin definitely morphed into a lump bigger than a quarter. Hydrocortisone cream doesn’t work. Mosquitoes ignore the bug spray I rub on my feet 5 times a day. I wouldn’t mind the insects if I wasn’t allergic to their saliva, but their bites are painful.
I should have been excited to finally be in the Dominican Republic, but my attitude was terrible. I let a tiny bug steal my happiness. Preventing them from biting me and trying to control the situation was an impossible task. I should have been focusing on more important things. I wasted so much time internally complaining about mosquitoes.
Then termites began scurrying to what little wood I have in this concrete apartment, so I spent my personal day killing them and preserving the kitchen cabinets.
Don’t move to an island in the Caribbean if you want to find joy and peace and contentment. Happy Places don’t exist. I didn’t find my happy place by moving to the Dominican Republic. Instead, I took a risk and moved to a third-world country because God told me to.
God is my peaceful place. Reading the Bible gives me comfort. Getting to know the God who made the universe gives me joy. I’m filled with confidence and hope because I’m doing what He told me to do. It isn't easy, but I have never regretted following God. In the end, He is worth it.
Comments