Fresh Eyes and Life's Seasons

In the world of blogging, you can usually sense people's moods by the tone, content and frequency of postings.  An avid blogger whose page suddenly goes blank is a good indication that some problem has come up. A semi-avid blogger with regular posts that become sporadic probably just indicates boredom with the sport.  A bloggers tone often reflects the writer's inner working- glass half-full, half-empty, condescending, uplifting.  Much like where you spend your money is a reflection on where your heart is- I would say that where a blogger spends most of their time is a good indication of where their heart is.

So, what does that say about our blog. It's been a month since I last posted so that probably means life has become routine bordering on the mundane. There is nothing wrong with life seeming boring for a period of time, it gives you just enough time to catch your breath for the next wave.  That wave can be good, as in a new baby,  or it can be bad, as in news of an illness. Either way, waves are usually exhausting.  If you look at the subjects of most of my posts, they either feature my kids, are related to my kids or someway to take care of my kids (meals, etc.)

In the advertising world, there is a term to refer to the number of times one person hears the same message regardless of the median used to express that message.  It's called "impressions" and it takes approximately 10 impressions before a message has been solidified in someone's mind.  This may come from a sales person, a TV commercial, a billboard or word-of-mouth. Sometimes, I wonder if God knows about "impressions" and uses the 'rule of 10' on us.

Lately, I've been hearing about seasons in life.  You have a singles season, a married without kids season, a young child season and so on.  I am assured that the small-child season really does end someday and a few have even warned that it will be over too quickly. 

I think about my season in life.  Sometimes it feels like a dry season and I am reminded of the scorching hot months without rain in Thailand.  During this time, farmers burn their fields and smoke fills the air to the point that the sun is lost in the clouds. Those dry days all my patience and good intentions are lost in a murky haze of discontent and bad attitudes.

Some days, like today, my season is caretaker.  This season is like the life-giving rains that proceeds on the heels of the smoke relieving the heat and releasing the sun.  Today, I took Ava to the emergency room to get one stitch in the back of her head from a poolside accident this morning. I don't like it when my kids are sick or broken but the end result of whatever calamity has fallen upon them is a chance to love.  When they are sick they want closeness.  When they are well they run around arguing causing chaos.  When they are broken they want healing and their spirit softens. The sibling shows concern and care for the injured party. They take care of each other.  When they are fully-mended they spend the better part of the day trying to break each other again.

I was thinking about this in relation to suffering in life. Some people's season in life is full of sorrow and grief. God does not wish calamity upon anyway and I know that he grieves with those who mourn.  But those times of sorrow and brokenness are such beautiful opportunities for our spirits to soften and desire closeness. We can build bonds between people and God where otherwise we are too busy causing chaos and trying to wound each other.

So, what's your season?

Things I Have Learned Overseas #234

You have to get rid of the "supposed to's" of life.

Example 1: A Popsicle is supposed to taste like cherry or orange or grape or maybe even bubble gum if you're feeling wild.  Yesterday, I ate a Green Tea Popsicle and it was yummy.  If I had only thought about what a Popsicle is "supposed to" taste like then I would not have enjoyed my green tea one.

Example 2: Grocery stores are supposed to carry basic staples like green beans, spinach, okra, potatoes, cocoa powder, wheat bread and baking soda.  I have rarely found all those things at any one grocery store in a single day.  If I only think about what a grocery store is "supposed to" carry, then I get very frustrated when it does not.  However, if I look at shopping as an exercise in patience and an adventure in discovery, then I might just come up with creative alternatives for dinner tonight.

Example 3: Children are supposed to obey their parents and not act like wild banshees in front of strangers.  My two-year old never got that memo.  Once again, if I look at Ava's willful defiance as a test of my resilience then I am better able to handle the situation with the most productive outcome.

Additionally, if we can look at an overwhelming circumstance in a different manner,  it might not taste so bad or look so scary.  When we remove the "supposed to's" of life, we are free to experience new things in a less rigid pattern.  It makes Green Tea Popsicles taste good and also makes life more fun.

Things I have learned overseas #3: MOLD

Lately, the weather has been puny at best. Slightly chilled and damp air infiltrates every surface including tile floors, concrete walls and even bed linens.  Although the temperature is not particularly low- only in the 50s and 60s usually- we don't have central heat.  This means that the temperature outside is the same inside.  But worse is the humidity outside is the same as inside.

Winter is the worst time of year in Taipei for humidity.  With average rainfall doubling that of Oklahoma and average number of sunny days numbering in half, humidity is a force to be reckoned with. Imagine crawling into bed at the end of a hard day only to be met with cold, damp sheets.  Sheets that feel as though they had only half-dried before making a bed and that smack of mildew.

Jeff and I just spent the better part of the evening wiping (again) mold off half the walls in our bedroom.  The mold has penetrated through bleach solutions, Lysol and now a desperate attempt at using 409. We wipe it away only to be taunted every few days with dotted, black patches creeping through the damp walls.

Isn't this what New Year's Resolutions are like? We vow to wipe away the ickiness that accumulates in our lives only for the ickiness to return in just a few days.  We try different cleaning products in the forms of new diets, self-help books and maybe even a new religion (or revisit an old one), only to be met with disappointment at our old self shining through. It always begins small.  We allow ourselves just one candy bar, one bad mood, one lie or one excuse.  Slowly the mold creeps in and erases any good intentions we had.

But what if there were another way? What if instead of trying really hard, we just surrendered? What if we allowed a force greater than us to take over? And instead of the mold slowly creeping in, we allowed this force to penetrate every aspect of our being so as to not leave room for the mold.  What if this could happen?  Would you let it? Think on these things.

"In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God."