Going to be real. Life on the field isn’t always easy. I don’t want it to be something that appears glamorous on the outside, because most days it isn’t. I’ve now been gone from my home for half a year. I haven’t been able to hug my loved ones. or drive my car. or eat the foods I want. or have a schedule of my own. For 6 months I have been forced to have “team time” and give feedback and talk about my feelings when I’d rather not. I have eaten more bread in Africa than I have in my entire life. I have had to live my life around a schedule that I didn’t chose, being different places at different times because people are counting on me. I have had to abandon all of my comforts, including talking to my family because wifi is few and far between. I have had to come to the reality that life is still happening at home and there’s some things I’m gonna miss out on. Sometimes I get tired of living with 45 people and just want a day to myself. Sometimes my days don’t seem purposeful and I end up watching movies on my laptop to fill the void of emptiness and boredom. I’ve been sick, lonely, annoyed, tired, burnt out, homesick, head full of lice, and ready for the next best thing. And I don’t want this to sound like I’m complaining because I love this season that the Lord has me in… but it isn’t easy and isn’t glamorous. I’ve grown, met the most amazing humans, been loved on, discovered more about myself, learned about the Lord and realized what my Kingdom purpose is. All of the blessings of this season could go on for days and I’d never wish that away. But this is just real life that comes with real tough days and real sappy emotions and it’s not always an amazing, thrilling adventure. But one thing the Lord continues to teach me is how precious time truly is. How often to we go about our days wishing we were doing something else, somewhere else, or preparing for what’s to come? If only we recognized in the moment that we would never get that same moment back. I think we would live our lives a whole lot differently with that perspective. It’s easy to sit here in Africa, missing all the American things and looking at old pictures but in reality this time next year I’ll be in college, most likely missing Africa and looking at all the old pictures. time is precious and wishing it away isn’t going to bring any good. learning to embrace every moment and soak it in- the good, bad, happy, hard- because I’m never gonna get it back. like the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. I used to have that mindset, but now I’m realizing the grass is greener where you water it.
