There comes a time during every world racer’s experience when they stop, look around, and ask themselves, “Is this really my life?” Am I really being served cold eggs and mushy French fries for dinner? Has is already been five days since I last bathed? Where is this taxi taking me? And how did I end up singing Amazing Grace in front of the entire church congregation?
And then you laugh, because it’s all you can really do.
The other night I had a passionate discussion with a few of my teammates about cereal. We talked about it all – Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Oatmeal Squares, Life, Raisin Bran, Honey Bunches of Oats…I could go on, but I don’t want to bore you.
We talked about what percentage of milk and what kind of fruit we like to add to each type of cereal. We debated Rice Chex verses Corn Chex. We chose one cereal to have with us on a desert island. We reminisced about eating Berry Captain Crunch during our childhood days. We bonded over how we like to flip our Frosted Mini Wheats sugar side up so the sugar lasts longer.
“Is this the game where you try to be the person who talks the longest about something?” a nearby woman asked us. We stared blankly back at her. “No…we just really miss cereal,” one of my teammates responded.
And it’s true. We miss cereal. We often miss what normal life used to consist of for us…bath towels, cute shoes, normal-sized pillows, Starbucks, being able to go somewhere alone, laundry facilities (especially dryers!), having a place that feels like home, Internet access at any given place and time, snacks in the pantry, the ability to call someone when you are supposed to meet them and you can’t find them, libraries, Halloween decorations, hot showers (or even just showers), football Sundays, clothes, coffee pots, ice cubes, running errands, choosing what you want to eat, clean water, hair cuts…again, I could go on (and, obviously, we so dearly miss our friends and family).
We are living in the constant contradiction of missing something, but also wanting more out of life.
And who knows, maybe this this how it will always be.
I suppose this is what we signed up for when we joined the World Race. Even more so, I suppose this is what we signed up for when we decided to follow Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ is forever asking us to give up our idea of what life should be like. He tells us to leave our tunics (or, in my case, my super cute green colored pea coat), and follow him to the ends of the Earth.
So here I am. In Bulgaria…just taking everything one day at a time.
(Though, I must admit, there are days when I fantasize about frantically ravaging the cereal aisle of my hometown grocery store nine months from now…)
