altered self

I've been tagged by my friend Jane to pen some thoughts on myself, so keeping on the subject on change, here is how I find myself altered...

• Something must have changed in my pitters because my imported anti-perspirant doesn’t work as well as it used to. I think Bristol-Myers should do their research in my steamy jungle.

• Once repelled by the thought of being a home schooling mom, I now enjoy it

• I don’t find my worth in my job or my relationships or how great my hair is on any particular day. I am of value because I am a creation of God.

• Being face-to-face with poverty. How it cannot change someone is not of question, the unanswered question is what my role is to combat it.

• Doing much less than what I have been trained in, and in the same breathe, more than what I have been trained in. I once was an RN in a Pediatric ICU now I am a teacher for ESL students.

• My arms are getting nicely toned. Partly because I drive an old Landcruiser with no power anything and often just driving it around town, avoiding the horse drawn trailers, wears me out. It’s an old, tough machine, when we got a single bulb installed to use as an interior light I clapped in delight. Back on the subject of my arms, one day I woke up and noticed how sore my biceps were, after a few moments I recalled carrying 8 kg sugar and flour home from the store the day before.

• Not getting to choose my own friends. There are now 8 North Americans living in my town. Slim-pickens. They are my friends and teammates. And I can see how God orchestrates these relationships for His purpose. And how much better is that than choosing relationships on my own bias.

• I, like my friend Jane, have formed an affinity for mayonnaise. In Brazil we mix it with ketchup (or what they call ketchup) and put it on our pizza and french fries. I also love to eat eggs on pizza as well.

• Treating my family and myself for worms every 3 months. Whether we know we have parasites or not. We assume one of us does.

• Back in my comfortable, controlled environment back in America I would jump or quickly brush off anything I felt crawling on my skin. Now, I just assume it is an ant and ignore it until it starts to tickle me, or discover it is not actually an ant but some other bug.

• Always having people around. It seems that there are always people in my house. Alone time is rare. I have the tiresome feeling that I am always being watched, studied. Whether it is true or not that is how I feel.

Thats it for now, change is inevitable so there will be more to come. Perhaps you've noticed change in me that I cannot verbalize myself or haven't even noticed yet. At any rate...Jill Inman, Kelsie Bergquist, you've been tagged. ~bzp