So stinkin' cute ...

Today, as the preschoolers were leaving to go home, one of the boys came up to me and kissed the back of my hand before running off to meet his mother for the short walk home. It was so cute!!! Ach, chivalry isn't dead and it's still a great way to make an impression.

The "bush"

Life in the “bush” … it strikes me as strange that a good portion of the men I talk to here who have been involved with missions have this desire to live in the bush somewhere, where there’s no running water and the nearest shopping mall is miles and miles away with a movie theater that consists of two screens the size of our big screen tvs back in the States, showing pirated movies. May God bless the women who eventually marry them.

For me, I know that I’m not called to the bush. If God were to ask me to move to the bush of Africa (or the bush of the Amazon, for that matter), I think it would spark another two years of trying to negotiate with Him. I’m a suburban kinda girl, who likes to be able to escape the busyness of city life by hiking a mountain or camping in a national park for the weekend. I enjoy grocery stores that sell a variety of nice cheeses, good food at nice restaurants, bookstores, sterile doctor’s offices and that lovely modern invention called electricity.

Okay, okay, I have to admit – the bush is kind of stimulating for a while. To “rough it” knowing that I’m eventually heading back to hot showers and washing machines can be fun. You get to see just what you’re made of and appreciate the everyday things we take for granted. I just don’t know if I can follow a husband down that road for long periods of time. We might have to resort to the two separate households arrangement.

I wonder if I’m capable of more than I’m giving myself credit for? God made me, after all, and who knows better what I’m able to endure? I have to be honest and say that I don’t really want to endure … I want to enjoy! Looks like I’d better hone in on those boys who enjoy the suburban side of missions.

Reproduction

I was at church this weekend and the guy teaching got up and said that he had a challenge for the singles out there. Oh, brother. He’d come to His People to talk about God in the marketplace and what our attitude should be towards work, but decided to preface his teaching with this:

For those of you born after 1974, congratulations. I say “congratulations” because in 1974, legislation was passed that could have legally prevented you from every being born (Roe v. Wade). The enemy had a plan to eradicate an entire generation of God’s seed from the earth, and he’s actually succeeded with a good portion of his plan. Now, we’re seeing his plan B. In large metropolitan cities across the world we’re seeing more and more single people who are of marrying age who, instead of choosing to marry and reproduce, are focusing instead on careers, climbing corporate ladders and building that “nest egg”. Plan A was to keep you from being born … plan B is to keep you from reproducing. Where will the next generation of godly seed come from if you continue along this path?

I have to admit that I’ve never thought of it that way. You see, I have friends who are (desperately) wanting to marry, but haven’t been able to make that connection – the “I’m-interested-in-you-and-you’re-interested-in-me-and-I-think-God-is-calling-us-in-the-same-direction” connection. Do I even have to mention that most of these are women? I know so many godly, incredible, beautiful, strong women who would make amazing wives and mothers who are waiting on God.

I also have friends who are dating/married, but have no intention of starting a family any time soon. Some are waiting until they’re financially more stable, until they can survive on one salary, until they’ve paid off some debts, etc.

I have to admit that, while I would like to get married someday, up until this point I was still wavering on the issue of having children. Whenever someone referred to my biological clock ticking away, I wouldn’t be bothered by the rudeness of the comment because I didn’t think it affected me. To be hones, I wasn’t so keen on having the load of the responsibility that comes with children. After this guy’s teaching and admonition, I also think – wow, what a privilege. What am I waiting for?

Home

I sometimes wonder at this illusion of "home". When people ask me where I'm from, I always hesitate. I was born in the Caribbean (St. Croix, U.S.V.I.) ... brought up in Texas ... my family still lives there. I felt more at home in Colorado than anywhere. I oftentimes wonder what it would take for South Africa to feel like "home" to me.

Is it the people, the relationships that make a place "home"? I got to hang out with a team from the States this week that made me feel like I was at home. I laughed so much and practically adopted the teenage boys as nephews, the girls as nieces. There's something that deeply connects me to some people, and not to others. I'm not sure if it's a particular type of people ... it doesn't seem to only be with Americans ... it happened in Brazil as well.

I would probably say that it's also the building - having a space to call my own that you've created that fits who you am. It's also a little bit knowing that I'll be there for a while, allowing me to settle in for the long haul and dig in enough to establish roots.

Home. How do you build a sense of home into your life when it seems like you don't stay anywhere long enough to make it worthwhile?

I'm not sure where to go from here, but I know I'll need it in the long run.