The small itchy patch started on our son’s lower back. We thought it was just heat rash. After all, the nine-year-old seemed to live in a state of perpetual sweat due to the tropical humidity and his love of sports. But the red patch began to spread.
We knew a well-trained dermatologist in our South Asian city and quickly made an appointment. The doctor looked at the flaming spot, asked a few questions, and promptly diagnosed pityriasis rosea, a non-contagious viral infection. She said it would continue to spread over his torso, eventually stopping mid-way down his arms and legs. There wasn’t any treatment, but the virus would eventually heal over the next two months. She recommended we keep him cool and dry. Easier said than done in the sweltering climate.
Sure enough, the red, bumpy rash continued to grow and covered our son’s entire torso. It eventually stopped at his upper arms and mid-thighs, then slowly went away. The doctor had accurately diagnosed the problem.
Our family experienced so many unusual medical issues during the first few years in South Asia that we literally wore the binding off the book, Where There Is No Doctor. In that short span, we endured typhoid, typhus, Fifth disease, tuberculosis, kidney stones, shingles, amoebas, stomach bacteria, ear and sinus infections, and pink eye. Amazingly, we were spared from the prevalent lice and bed bugs.
I look back on those days and wonder how I stayed for sixteen years. I constantly battled worry and anxious thoughts. I also experienced contentment and assurance in God’s missionary call on my life.
Contentment does not mean happy emotions. It is not an innate characteristic nor produced on a whim (Deuteronomy 31:6). Contentment from God is a sense of peaceful satisfaction that stems from walking with Him daily in His Word, believing His promises, praying, and remaining in community with other believers. During those challenging times in South Asia, I learned to cling to God and His presence through these spiritual disciplines.
What or whom do you depend on for contentment? Let God fill you with the peace and contentment only He can provide through His Word and presence.
Jenna McIntyre is a small-town girl who follows a big God in a crazy world. Jenna enjoys telling stories, especially those where God has worked. After thirty years on the mission field with her husband and two children, Jenna now shares those stories with others. After graduating college, Jenna served two years with a mission organization where she met her husband. She completed a seminary degree, then she and her husband returned to overseas ministry shortly before their second anniversary. They ministered sixteen years in South Asia and six years in Southeast Asia. They now live and serve in Europe.