Life here in Africa requires a new level of vulnerability than I am used to. Have you ever been through phases of life like that? Times to grow and change? Times to self-reflect and question your own motivations behind your actions? Oh good, I\u2019m glad we can just share a cup of tea and chat about it as old friends then.<\/p>\n
Oh you know how it is here, how everything has changed. It goes so much further than those mystery hotdogs in the store. It\u2019s not even the fact that Africa has found a way to make apple juice super different. Maybe it\u2019s the sugar level. Maybe it\u2019s the fruit. Maybe it\u2019s the heat and the paper carton. Maybe it\u2019s just everything. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s in the transparency. Everyone knows how many bug bites you have. Everyone knows how dirty your feet are by the footprints left on the kitchen floor. And then there\u2019s all your personable out on the back laundry line hanging out there in public for hours\u2026 and hours. Oh sure it\u2019s just a part of this culture. It\u2019s totally normal. A totally different normal for this modest lady.<\/p>\n
Windows wide open. The general public may not understand our language, but the use of a parental tone, however infrequently, is cross-cultural. The baby\u2019s crying transitions are highly familiar to our guards. Speaking of our sweet guards, want some vulnerable transparency? How about someone hearing your every conversation throughout the day while outside your home. Oh no, people, our guards are wonderful. Sweet men from the community. But still their mere presence bucks the American culture of privacy.<\/p>\n
Their presence begging to question if privacy is indeed as critical as it was once termed. Oh friends, we have nothing to hide. We are who we are, you know? Mistakes and all. The good, the bad and the ugly.<\/p>\n
No we\u2019re not postcard to send home. No poster children here. Just real. And honestly transparent.<\/p>\n
Vulnerability is not a negative trait.<\/p>\n
Like how would you define vulnerability? Generally it\u2019s pretty undesirable, huh? But Africa pushes me to redefine it and live in the new definition. Oh sure, I still cringe a bit at my underwear hanging out on the line. Super awkward still. Practical? Yes. Awkwardly immodest? For me, yes.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s something about it all. A rawness to live in. No room for dreaming, creating an escape or living in an alternate reality. Oh no, right here is the beauty. Right here in the middle of the push. In the middle of the pinch and the stretching.<\/p>\n
No, friend, it\u2019s not comfortable. And then sometimes it\u2019s just normal and there\u2019s comfort in that. Normalcy to laugh at your own mistake in language, even when you\u2019re a bit embarrassed. Nope, you really don\u2019t remember the name of that type of cup today. It\u2019s just gone. Like it never existed. And no matter how simple of a concept that may be, you\u2019re still fighting to compose even a toddler sentence.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m just thankful. It really is a privilege to be stretched. Nope, it doesn\u2019t always feel like a privilege. And sometimes you just have to choke back tears and say \u201cone moment at a time\u201d. That\u2019s how endurance is built. That\u2019s how you build a new life. A new life with the same old people. The same old joy and thanksgiving and sorrow. In a new setting.<\/p>\n
Vulnerability.<\/p>\n
The song came to my ears from the kitchen windows as I hung the clothes on the line that morning. I wanted to get all the sunlight I could get. I had two loads to rotate out that day. Music has ministered so to our hearts here. From Eden dancing to a silly veggietale song to Disney song dance-breaks and worship songs. Soundtracks of familiarity have brought such joy. Such joy flooded my ears as I chewed on these thoughts that morning. And then the song lyrics hit, making brunch of these scrambled-egg thoughts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis cup, this cup I want to drink it up. To be right here in the middle of it. Right here, right here. This challenging reality is better than fear or fantasy.\u201d<\/p>\n