standing up, speaking out...

Perspective.

Posted by Amanda , Monday, May 31, 2010 11:13 PM

I don't think anything normal ever happens here.

And I don't ever want to forget it.
Life here is so spur of the moment, but I'm learning to grasp onto that...to appreciate every second of it. I've never lived my life like this before.
It's never been so open to change, so chaotic, so beautiful.

The week started out with rain. Lots and lots of rain. So much, that we really didn't even leave our house.
On Tuesday, it was still raining.
That afternoon, we ended up taking loads and loads of people from the River and transporting them to a carnival in town.
It was interesting to see everyone come to life there.
It's like the parents of these kids we work with became children again.
They were hopping on the rides with smiles on their faces.
Walking around the carnival, I realized how many of the kids I know here. I would get a hug from one of the kids in the River and then the next minute another kid from Kids Club would be yelling my name and waving at me. How do I deserve to know all these great kids?

The next morning, it was still raining.
Daniel and I were supposed to head to the River that morning. To be honest, I was really reluctant. I was trying to find every way out of it that I could. It was pouring down rain and I didn't feel like biking through it.
Then I thought about it some more.

Why can't I bike through the rain? What's the big deal? It's just water. It's not gonna hurt me.
And what's at the end of that bike ride? Kids that I love.
What was the big deal?

The big deal is that we take things too seriously. We let our moments slip by because "we don't want to get wet."
How many moments do I waste or lose or give up for silly, stupid excuses?
I'm too tired, I'm too hungry, it's too cold, it's too hot, I'll do it later.

The next day, we found ourselves biking to the river again in the rain. This time, however, we spent the afternoon skipping rocks with the kids and playing by the water.
Instead of complaining, or just getting by, I decided to grasp and appreciate this moment.
I'm sure glad I did.
I got to watch the kids skip stones and help them collect the prettiest ones.
I watched my favorite little 3-year-old build a little bridge with a brick and a piece of plywood, end up falling into the water anyway and then run up and give me a huge hug.
I saw a chicken fall off a ledge, into the rushing river and get swept pretty far down by the current.
I opened my eyes and everything seemed brighter, better...more full of life.

Really...I just love what a little change in perspective can do.