Comfort

Mambo! So, I'm back in Dar: home sweet home. The above picture does a pretty good job describing my time at home in Dallas. Cheese is crazy expensive here and thus very rare, so being able to eat to my heart's content in cheese was by far one of the best things about being home. Really, it's all I wanted to do my first day home. :) So when I saw this billboard on I-35, I had to pull over for a pic.

My time at home was great.... it was really wonderful spending time with friends and family and very nice to relax some. I was able to spend good quality time with most of the people I wanted to, which I'm so thankful for, though it all still seemed too rushed since I was home for such a short period. Very thankful for the time I did have, though. I'm starting to realize now how weird it is (and hard) having your heart in two places. When I was in the States, I missed so many things about life in Africa- the simplicity, the friendliness of strangers, the time to be still and reflect... and now that I'm back here, I miss my friends and family more than I did before, since I was just able to spend such great time with them, and I miss a lot of the 'ease of living' in America. In a way, I feel like I'm having to go through the "transition phase" again now b/c I'm having to re-adjust to a lot of the hardships here that I'd gotten used to before I went back home.

And, speaking of those hardships.... my biggest take-away from my time in the States was on the *comfort* there. Life in America is very, very COMFORTABLE. Life in Africa is very, very UN-comfortable. In case you're envying the exotic places I get to visit and the daily adventures my life here holds (which yes, are all wonderful), please realize that daily living here is HARD. And it's not just "hard".... it's *uncomfortable*. It doesn't 'feel' good. It *feels* uncomfortable. Every day.

I was surprised by how much the comfort of things in America shocked me (since I've lived with them for 30 years). Every room is set to the temperature of one's choosing. Soft, cushy furniture abounds in any and every building you enter. Infinite choices of food and drink abound everywhere. Cars ride along smoothly on nicely paved roads. And the power is ALWAYS on. Oh yeah- hot water, too. And if any of these things aren't there- for even a moment- one has every 'right' to be angry or in a bad mood... because things 'should' always be this easy.... right?

Here in Africa- and in the majority of the world- having even one of those things listed above, if even just for a moment, is reason to jump for joy and praise heaven. Room temperatures are NOT set to one's choosing.... Here in Dar I sweat ALL day EVERY day, and so does EVERY other person in this city. All year long. It is crazy hot and humid and A/C here is very rare if not nonexistent (and the A/C here consists of window boxes in certain rooms, not the central cooling that homes in the states have). Power goes out for hours on end or days on end, several times a week (meaning no a/c OR fans)- with no prior warning. (although the power company actually let out a "power rationing" schedule last month.... which they stopped following and power outages have since been totally random). The customer is NOT always right here. Inconveniences abound EVERYwhere. My bathroom doesn't have any hot water. (though I'm not complaining b/c 90% of the time I only want a cold shower in this heat) There are a *very* small handful of places in this entire city with comfortable furniture that can be "lounged" in... and my roommate and I travel about an hour each weekend to get to the one coffee shop that does, just so that we can 'sit there' for a while. Food is cooked from scratched or you eat peanuts and popcorn bought on the side of the road (hence my lunch every day ;)). And these are descriptions of my life here, which is much easier and more 'comfortable' than the majority of Tanzanians (who don't have electricity or running water.... much less the ability to purchase a cappuccino).

I'm all for comfort- like I said, Laura and I go an hour across town most weekends just to sit in the one comfy A/C'ed coffee shop in the entire city. But what got to me in America is the sense of entitlement for these comforts. The expectation for them all. The fact that most people would complain so much if any one of these eases of life was taken from them even briefly. And on top of that, most people's goal is to work hard enough to retire so that their life can be even MORE comfortable. I'm not saying it's wrong to have or enjoy many of these comforts, but if they're expected and "can't be lived without".... it handicaps life from being lived to its fullest after a point.

Yes, life is hard here. Uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable, very often. But that doesn't mean life isn't GOOD. It is hard, but it is GOOD. Life is simple here. Relationships are experienced and enjoyed. Strangers strike up conversation with each other and enjoy life together. Food and wages are worked hard for, truly "earned", and simple things are never taken for granted. Opportunities to do things- including for others- aren't often turned down because they're 'uncomfortable'. Life doesn't always "feel" good here- in fact, it very rarely does- but in the end, that doesn't mean it isn't good.

So, today: don't be scared of a little discomfort (or even a lot).  When we go to such extreme lengths to keep all our comforts up (which most Americans do, knowingly or unknowingly), we surely miss MANY opportunities to serve and to love and to give and to be the hands and feet of Christ. Jesus was described as a "man of many sorrows".... He was "well acquainted with grief".... He owned only the clothes on his back.... He had "nowhere to lay his head". None of those descriptions of His life sound 'comfortable' to me. In fact, they sound pretty uncomfortable. Going to try to remember that here when I'm internally complaining about the heat or the pollution or the slow internet or the crazy traffic or the.... fill in the blank. ;)