Real life
Before the World Race, real life had a lot of structure for me. I lived how I wanted and had basically the same habits day in and day out. Real life was fun because I filled it with what I wanted. Real life was comfortable because I had designed it around my wants and needs. Real life was easy to navigate because I had a routine full of all the things I was used to. Real life was quiet because I set myself apart from others.
Real life looks a little different now.
These days, real life is…
Having 10 people hug me goodnight, and 10 more ask me the next morning how I slept.
Real life is…
Wearing the skirt I’ve only worn once this week and calling it “dressing up.”
Real life is…
Understanding that being alone in the shower just means that the person sharing the bathroom with me is on the other side of the curtain.
Real life is…
Having a little girl tell her friend that I don’t speak English because we’ve been chatting in Spanish all day.
Real life is…
Painting nails with a 13-year-old girl who has been victimized and terrorized more than any person should ever have to experience yet who still has a smile on her face.
Real life is…
Worshipping God while lying on a piece of cardboard on the floor of a garage using a water bottle as a pillow, and loving it.
Real life is…
Everyone’s bathroom experiences that day counting as normal dinner table conversation.
Real life is…
Counting blisters and bruises from construction at the end of the day.
Real life is…
Missing my teammates when we split up for ministry because I’m used to spending every minute of every day with them.
Real life is…
Swinging a pick axe and shoveling dirt all day, then worshipping in Spanish at church in the afternoon, then hanging out with 49 housemates all evening before passing out in the room I share with 5 other girls.
Real life is…
Lice checks, tick checks, rubbing soap on ant bites to stop the itching, and rubbing aloe on sunburns to stop the peeling.
Real life is…
Smelling clothes after washing them by hand to see if they’re actually clean, and picking stickers out of them after they’ve blown off the clothes line for the 3rd time.
Real life is…
Having deep, real conversations with people every day, and forgetting that I didn’t know them a few months ago.
Real life is…
God’s presence in every aspect of my day, not just at church.
Real life is…
Watching the sun rise over Honduran mountains while I do yoga.
Real life is…
Praying over strangers at church and on the streets.
Real life is…
Daily growth and no opportunity for complacency.
Real life is…
Celebrating that the local store carries peanut butter.
Real life is…
Raw. Beautiful. New. Exciting.
Real life is…
Better than ever.
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” – Ephesians 4:1
