Potatoes, Patatas

It was Thursday, and I was going to be brave. I had just arrived in Spain, but I heard about a rock climbing gym nearby. I love rock climbing, so I was determined to find it. Little did I know what was in store...

First, I got off at the wrong bus stop. This turned a ten minute bus ride into a twenty-five minute walk in the sun. Sweaty and out of breath, I made it to the gym...only to find out I needed cash. (Guess who was planning to pay with her card?!) Scrounging together all my change, I was able to pay. My climb was short and awkward. This gym was different than the one I was used to. Plus, I felt defeated by the bus, not having cash, and not being able to speak Spanish confidently enough to talk with the other climbers. I decided to walk all the way back, instead of trying to catch the bus again.

With my last drop of courage, I stopped for dinner at a cafe and asked the cashier what he recommended. He said “tortilla.” I knew that word! I asked him what was in it. He looked at me like I was crazy and pointed to a big omelet cake-looking thing. Suddenly I remembered that, in Spain, a tortilla is not a thin disc of flour to put your taco in; it’s a very common, very traditional baked egg dish that, for some reason, is all the rage. I asked him if there were “papas” in it. (“Papas” is the word I know for potatoes, but again in Spain, it’s different.) He quickly corrected me with a no nonsense “patatas” (the correct word for potatoes) and I could feel my courage melting away into my red face.

Although this day was terrible on the surface, it actually encouraged me because real life is messy and imperfect and awkward, and God walks with us through it. He doesn’t require us to  have it all together or look like we do. In fact, He often chooses imperfect, unpolished people, because it’s not our polish or our perfection that accomplishes things for the kingdom. It’s His power, which is made perfect in our weakness. So on days of misadventure, I rest. I stop relying on myself and remember that His grace smooths over all of my rough edges.