8.29.2012

I learn so much from my 10 month old daughter.

The shift back and forth between worlds is typically challenging but often for different reasons. This time it's been arriving back home to the culmination of many broken things--a faulty alternator that renders our car useless, a busted water heater that means no agua caliente, a broken fan, low water pressure, frequent power outages...and the list goes on. After a while you begin to feel like nothing will ever work again, or that always in process of fixing one thing two more will break.

You can imagine this generally becomes annoying, defeating, draining, and altogether just gets old.

Yet I don't know that I would trade any of it. I fear one day living in a more luxurious situation and everything actually working. I become far too comfortable.

Maybe it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I actually have to fight to  choose joy in the midst of such trivial exasperating circumstances. My life is by no means hard. And lately I've been seeing just how if I can get over myself and my desire for easy, such messes and "unfortunate" conditions yield great blessing. A hike into town with Char in the stroller to get groceries--precious memories made with my daughter as a result of no car. A night of sitting on the porch talking to Tim in the dark--extended quality time spent with my husband because of no power and the distraction of Internet.

Charlotte looks up at me from her pots and pans, banging away to her own rhythm. She is truly just as delighted to play with kitchen utensils as some fancy, high-end baby gadget. She remains beautifully unaware of the disjointed nature of life at the moment. I catch her smiling back at me and I can't help but get choked up at her innocence, her joy, her genuine contentment with life. She claps her hands and I think, I want to be like Charlotte when I grow up.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Too precious! That childlike faith and everlasting joy for life in any circumstance will always bring you back down to home the place you realize that God Is in FULL control and not us! Love this!! And love y'all and my sweet niece baby Charlie! -Aunt Tessy!