A Lady with a Rake

This past weekend my team and I went to Phi Phi Island to spend our day off and to celebrate Alexis’s birthday. We rode a ferry to get to the island and let me just say it is absolutely gorgeous. Pictures don’t even do it justice and words can’t even describe it.

We stayed one night in a hostel right on the beach. I forgot what it felt like to be in air conditioning and the showers had hot water…my heart was so overwhelmed (thank you, Lord). We basically spent most of our time on the beach considering we were only staying there one day. Besides the fact that this island is downright beautiful and it’s a natural tourist spot, people also go there to party and drink.

It’s 1:30 a.m. and the walls in our room are shaking from the music…

I already decided that I wanted to wake up early to watch the sun rise and read my bible on the beach the next morning so I tried to get some sleep.

I woke up around 6 with the help of my alarm, grabbed my bible and headed out to the beach. Unfortunately the sun was already coming up but it’s okay because I was the only one on the beach and I got to have it all to myself. As I got closer to the ocean I see that the sand is completely trashed. It was evident that the night before had consisted of some hardcore drinking and smoking. As I walked closer to the water I found a clean spot of sand to sit on and I began to read my bible. I was in my glory; it was quiet, the view was beautiful and I got to have some time with God.

A little while later I see a lady walk to the sand with a rake and begin to gather garbage up with it. I didn’t really think anything of it and continued to read my bible. As she continued to work, it kinda hit me…she didn’t smoke these cigarettes or drink the liquor that was once in these cups and cans, she was probably just trying to get some sleep last night like the rest of us. Was she getting paid for doing this? probably, yes. Would she still have a job if there wasn’t anyone or anything to clean up after? I really don’t know…all I know is that it bothered me, it didn’t seem fair.

I don’t know why but I got the urge to help her. We didn’t make this mess but we could do it together, also I really like to clean stuff so if I could clean the beach and somehow serve someone else it was a win-win. I glanced at her, then back at my bible…language barrier flashed through my head. Some people over here in Thailand understand English and some don’t, it just depends on how advanced you are and how much practice you’ve had. I decided to pray and basically said “look God, I don’t know how much English this lady understands or if she will even understand me at all but please help her to be receptive to what I’m about to ask her.”

I scooped up my things and walked towards her, I simply said excuse me and asked if she needed some help…she looked at me with a confused look.
I tried again, this time using my hands a bit, asking if she had another garbage bag that I could use for picking up trash. To my surprise she nodded her head, walked away and returned with a garbage bag.
I felt so overjoyed…she actually understood me! That was a triumph in itself!

We mostly worked in silence, she raked and I walked along the beach collecting trash. I was honestly in my glory…cleaning and walking along the beach?! My heart was happy.
She said something I didn’t understand and motioned me towards her…she pointed at the sand towards some weird looking worm thing and laughed. I asked her what kind of worm it was or if they had a name…no response.

A little while later she motioned me back towards her, pulled out her phone and pointed towards the screen…she wanted to take a picture with me. I nodded, then pulled out my phone so I could get one as well. She showed me a picture of a little girl on her phone and said something…I didn’t understand but when I said “daughter” she nodded. She continued to show me a few more pictures of people, I presume they were her family. This lady is showing me her family…what?! I felt so honored that she would want to share them with me.

When we finished cleaning the beach, I picked up my bible and headed back up to my room. My team and I spent the rest the time we had on the beach and exploring the island. When it came time to leave I searched the area one last time for the lady…I found her. I walked up and simply said “I’m leaving now, it was nice meeting you” and I waved goodbye. She smiled and waved back.

When I look back on the situation I totally know it was a God thing. We did not speak the same language…at all. How she understood me when I asked for a plastic bag to help her was all God. I can’t even describe it in all honesty. I do know however, that I am very thankful she came into my life and our paths crossed. When I think about this situation…Colossians 3:23 keeps coming back to my mind.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

I’m only one person, my name is not going to go down in history for doing something as simple as picking up trash along a beach. I’m not going to win a medal or a prize…
But you see, none of that really matters. I am working for the Lord…it doesn’t matter if I would break a world record or if I hold a door for a stranger. I could do something big or something small but either way, I know that if I give it my all and work at it wholeheartedly with a Christ like attitude God will give me so much more than I could even imagine. After helping that lady, I had so much more joy than I even thought was possible. I’m never going to see her again, I don’t even know her name but I’m hoping that she didn’t see a girl on the beach helping her…I hope she saw a light, I hope she saw Christ’s love shining so brightly through me.