Again, I am humbled...

Its funny how on the days when I am having the best "poor me" day something happens to jolt me back into reality. Like when we ended up stuck due to bad weather and having to drive 5 1/2 hours on Easter instead of attending church, hunting for eggs and having a big meal. I will admit I was a bit disappointed and cranky. I know, I was totally showing the true meaning of Easter. I was frantically helping Pete load the car when a small window broke in the snow storm so we could make it over the pass before it closed AGAIN! I was very much in manager role with little patience and a lot of expectations. We arrived home and there was a package from one of Pete's friends. In it was a vest that his best friend Mark wore while fishing. Mark passed away in a plane crash and as I watched Pete hold the vest and silently sob reality came crashing down. As he sat and just held that vest I wanted to eat all the words from earlier. They weren't mean words, they were just words that lacked the tone of patience. I just stood with him in silence. I was reminded that life is too short to get upset over the little things, life means too much to lose patience over the things we can't control. Again, I am humbled...

Here's another example. Today is what I call a re-entry day. My mom was here to visit and left on Sunday. I have to re-adjust to not having her around and so do the kids. I get grumpy and they get naughty. Like dipping baby wipes into the dog's water and wash the leather couch naughty while I'm on a call. Then I received an email from an AHOPE volunteer and while she was in Ethiopia one of the guest house guard's sisters died suddenly. She was just 25 and the only family he had left. He was so kind to us and has a heart for serving and giving and I can't imagine the loss he feels. There is a line from a song that says something like "I see a man of sorrows and his long, troubled road. I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load". Again, I am humbled...


In Ethiopia I am told it is tradition when someone loses a family member that you just go and sit with them. I could learn a lot from that...