I remember last summer before training camp thinking, "it's just a year. I probably won't change that much in a year." I think it's safe to say that I was wrong.
A lot of things have become normal to me this year. It's normal to sleep on the floor, to crave peanut butter, and to know all of the surrounding restaurants with wifi and to be able to predict passwords. It's normal to give every kid you see a high five and a hug, to speak in broken English, and to stop using contractions in daily conversation. It's normal to eat things you drop on the floor without thinking twice, to brush your teeth outside with a water bottle, and to shower from a bucket or a hose. It's normal to see rain and think,"I should grab my shampoo before it stops," to wear clothes until they are too smelly to keep wearing them, and to not see a mirror for weeks. It's normal to eat the bugs that have been cooked into your food, to wake up with the sun, and to use matches to start your stove. It's normal to always carry toilet paper with you, to never flush the toilet paper, and to "hold it" rather than pay for the bathroom. It's normal to wake up with the sun, to not have electricity, and to hear roosters at all hours of the night. It's normal to not drink the tap water, to praise God when you can drink it, and to never have cold water. It's normal to not watch tv, to not have a dryer, and to hand wash your clothes. It's normal to not have napkins, to bargain for everything, and to not wash your hair for days. It's normal to not understand anything going on around you, to apologize profusely if you touch someone's head, and to only summon people the way they do in Asia (never pointing only one finger at them). It's normal to shower as fast as you can because there is a line, the water is freezing, you are scared it could run out at any minute, or all of the above…. I feel like I could go on longer, but I think you get the point. A lot of habits I had before the race with food, cleanliness, and normal expectations of the environment around me are gone.
I have new habits and routines that have become normal over the last 11 months. It's normal now to never be alone, to always get a second opinion for every decision, and to be super conscious of money (as it's usually not mine). It's normal now to get feedback on my actions and words throughout the day, to stop and pray about everything, and to stop and pray for people. It's normal for Jesus to dominate conversation, for the Bible to be the first thing I open in the morning, and for prayer to be my first resort. It's normal now for all or my possessions to fit in 2 bags, for my tent to be my house, and for showers to be cold. It's normal now to believe in and pray for miracles, to look for God's hand in all situations, and to constantly give God the glory.
It's weird to think about driving my car, or having access to wash my clothes whenever I want, or grocery shopping by myself. It's weird to think about wearing high heels, or blow drying my hair, or having more than 6 shirts to choose from every day. It's weird to think that I'm about to transition back into a culture that is so completely different from the culture that we created this year and to make that transition with ease.
I think that the culture that we created on the race is not normal compared to the culture that we left at home, but could become normal. I think a culture of calling each other higher, loving each other, serving each other, thinking about others before our selves, pushing each other toward God… I think those are all things that God wants for us and the kind of culture for which God created us.
I don't think it's going to be easy for me to transition back to "real life" but I don't think it needs to be hard either. I don't think that "real life" really needs to look a lot different than the life we lived on the race this year. I think there's a way to balance everything I learned this year with life at home. I think the new Sarah will be just fine- people might just think I'm weird for a while. But that's normal.
