The first week we moved into our house it seemed like one thing after another kept breaking. The air con in our bedroom wasn’t working right. The microwave made scary noises. The fridge was leaking water. I broke a handle off of the window when I tried to close it. A bed broke when I sat down on it. And one of the legs on the glass kitchen table wasn’t attached. Little did I realize these small headaches were the beginning of a new normal where everything seems to break. 

Here are a few illustrations from the past couple months:

• The bottom of the hot water kettle fell off while I was using it. (Yes, there was hot water in it.)
• I bought a pot with a glass lid that had a handle screwed into it upside down.
• The coffee pot acts funky and sometime the water gets stuck with all the grounds.
• Evelyn’s pillow seam keeps ripping open even after we sew it back up.
• Our custom ordered kitchen table arrived with a massive scratch across the top. 
• The printer doesn’t work on Wifi or print in the right colors. 
• The mop handle broke (which obviously means we are cleaning too much right?)
• The MacBook Air (that I bought brand new from Apple in the U.S. before we left) suddenly died with no warning. Turns out the whole motherboard needed replaced!
• In the car, I discovered the volume button on the radio kept getting louder no matter which direction I turned it. 
• The alarm clock turns off every two minutes, but turns back on when you bump it.

The American idea of “good customer service” is not universal. While I have always been treated politely and with respect as a customer in Cambodia, people do not bow to my every whim here like they do at Chick-fil-a and Amazon. No hassle return policies do not exist here like they do at Costco. I have learned to inspect every product and open every box before I leave the store with something. I’ve shed more than a few tears in frustration over that fact that we seem to spend endless amounts of energy trying to locate what we need, only to get it, have it fall apart and be stuck with it. 

In addition to this, we are in that beautiful yet exasperating season of life where little hands in the house naturally create more broken glasses, torn furniture and stained clothes. 

I’m slowly learning to be okay with things being less than perfect. In this struggle, I can sense the Holy Spirit is working in my heart to teach me patience and contentment. I dedicated the big scratch on my kitchen table as a reminder for myself. I decided that every time I see it, I will think of God’s words about the grass withering and the flowers fading. About the treasures that moth and rust destroy. I breathe and let go. It’s only stuff right? I ask God to change my heart, to help make more room inside for the things that last, like love for others and for him. 

And sometimes my expectations are positively exceeded! Last weekend we bought a Christmas tree. We brought it home, set it up, and found the lights (that had already been pre-strung on it) were not working. Here we go I thought. Another purchase on something that didn’t hold up for 2 seconds. Sokion called the store and to my surprise they sent one of the store workers TO OUR HOUSE (during rush hour). He played electrician for us, cut open the string and re-wired the cords inside it, then taped it back up with electrical tape. Good to go!

The customer may not be king in Cambodia, but I never cease to be amazed at the lengths that Cambodian people will go to help each other. And that is a treasure. 

“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

1 John 2:17 (NIV)