Background information: I have been sick since last summer. It’s been a constant battle between my stomach and the food I eat. I’ve had dengue fever (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever) thanks to a mosquito. I’ve stepped on rusty nails and had to get tetanus shots. I’ve had headaches. It’s always something…

A few weeks ago, my friend Alyse mentioned something to me that I hadn’t thought about at all. She said, “You know, maybe you’re always sick because of those Buddhas you bought and keep in your room.” At first I thought it was slightly crazy, a little bit out of the box. I rationalized that I’d been sick waaaay before I had obtained the Buddhas, so I wrote it off at first. I found myself thinking about the possibility constantly, and remembered that I’d also bought a wooden carving of a Hindu god and a mystical dancing figure at Angkor Wat in Cambodia in December. That still didn’t justify my chronic sickness(es) since the summer, though. I began to seek council from some of my Christian friends (including Alyse) whom I respected and truly believed would have the knowledge and open-mindedness to consider something that seemed so crazy. Could I really have been afflicted with sickness because of some stupid idol? I mean, I’d prayed over it and “cast out” any spirits in the Name of Jesus! Shouldn’t that be enough?

When Dr. JoAnn came to drop the student teachers off in Thailand, I talked to her about all that I’d been thinking about. She had some crazy stories about contact with Buddhist objects from when she lived here, and definitely suggested that I get rid of mine on the ASAP.

My friend David Wiley threw this out there and it made me think: He said, “Why don’t you pray this prayer…”

‘Dear God, please bless this idol that I’ve chosen to bring into the home that You have provided for me.’

(ouch) That made me think.

I’ve been trying to read my chronological Bible everyday this year so I can get through the entire thing (for the first time ever…it’s on my Bucket List) and it just so happened that right when I was considering all of this…I came across this passage: Genesis 35:2

² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.”

Ok, so around this time I was realizing that God probably was calling me to dispose of my “souvenirs.” It was just hard for me to fully understand why they were so bad when obviously I wasn’t worshiping them, I’d prayed out any evil spirits (or so I thought), and I had no intention of utilizing them for their true purpose. But that’s just it…they were created to take the place of God, so why in the world would I have ever thought it would be remotely ok to allow them into my home, even if they would look amazing in my future “world room.” So I had almost decided to suck it up and trash the Buddhas and company, but the final straw came when I realized something about the painting I had bought in July, July 11th to be exact. It was a beautiful painting that just reeked of culture. I fell in love with it from the moment I laid eyes on it; I even met the artist who explained to me that it “meant success.” Somehow, it’s like the blinders were just lifted and I realized that the painting was completely Buddhist, and even something as seemingly-innocent as that could somehow have affected me.

After several weeks of internal deliberation, I was ready to get rid of both the painting and the idols, though I secretly wished that I could sell the lot of it because all together it probably valued about $300. So, not only was I disposing of my favorite souvenirs, I was throwing away a serious chunk of change. But, in the words of my dear friend Flerida, “You can’t put a pricetag on peace.” :) So one night after dinner with her, I called Alyse up and we gathered up the loot. I put the painting by the trash can outside of my apartment, and we took the basket of Buddhas, Hindu wood carving, mystical dancer, and monk cloths down to the Chao Phraya River and tossed the entire thing into the water. We then proceeded to anoint my apartment entrances with oil and pray over it and me. (All that is rather new to this Baptist girl…but I like it.)

The most amazing part of this story is…

I HAVEN’T BEEN SICK SINCE! I’ve felt healthy…I’ve felt vibrant…I’ve felt joyful.

I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t care. It’s true. Maybe it was just a test of obedience–Would I seriously have the faith to give up things that I held dear to me even if it meant losing some killer souvenirs and $300? No matter the reason, I’ve felt amazing over the past week since I said, “Bye bye Buddha!” Along with the physical sickness, I even wonder if my lack of joy over the past 6 months is a result of having all of that in my home. I also wonder how my experience in Thailand would have been different had I’d not purchased all of that stuff. But, you can’t live off of shoulda-coulda-woulda’s though. It’s interesting to think about spiritual warfare…it’s no joke. And just because one might be ignorant of it, doesn’t make it any less real. I can vouch for that now. I don’t know why I’m drawn to things like Buddhas and religiously-associated, heavily-spiritual items when it comes to finding “cultural artifacts” to take home, but next time I will for sure think twice about dropping my money on something that has the potential to draw me away from MY God.

Here’s a Bible study that talks about “cursed objects”…I would come across this after I already got rid of my stuff. Haha. http://greatbiblestudy.com/haunted_homes_land.php

So anyway, all that to say…God is good! I’m feeling good! Life is good! PTL. :)

P.S. Skeeter made the cut, but his fate is still being prayed about. He’s my dude…his little $2 butt would be the hardest to give up by far.

I’m out. //Cwalk.