Honest October
I thought I’d join in on the fun of “Honest October” with our blog. Being completely honest sometimes looks ugly or even unhappy, but if we can’t be completely honest with one another then we are living a bunch of lies. I’m sure your spouse, or best friend, knows “the real you” but why can’t we be real with everyone else. I’m going to get real in this blog. The good, the bad, and especially the ugly!
Ever have one of those days where you just want to crawl back into bed and not come out for days? Yea…me too! Days when nothing, and I mean NOTHING seems to go “your way”. The past few weeks, I’ve had a few of those. Don’t worry….I’m not depressed or need a psychiatric evaluation, I’m just being real. I sometimes take a step back and say, “What in the world are we doing?”. I mean we live in a third world country that has the highest HIV infection rate in the world. We live in a country where it’s ok for a man to take multiple wives or just have girlfriends on the side. We live in a country where culture always precedes the Bible. We live in a country where people are literally starving. We live in a place that would rather pass out condoms than promote abstinence. We live in a country where innocent children are sexually abused because of high drug and alcohol abuse. None of this is acceptable!
I sometimes want to shout to the mountaintops and run away. I would be lying if I said this life we are living is easy. There are days when I want to go back to my “normal” life in America. I want to go back and teach at that excellent private Classical Christian school. I want to have the nice house with hardwood floors and Berber carpet. I want to go to the grocery store and have hundreds of cereals to choose from. I want to buy tortilla chips ANY day I please. I want to get up early in the morning and go for a run….alone. I want to turn on HGTV and veg out all day. I want to walk around Wal-Mart for hours. I want to drive through a fast food restaurant. I want to eat Mexican food five days a week. I want….I want…..I want.
Philippians 4:11 says, “…I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Ouch! That one always hurts! We are to find joy and peace in everything. Even in days that are not going “our way”. I think that’s where the problem lies…we want things “our way” and not God’s way. We have to trust and appreciate all the He has given us and sometimes all that He has taken away. Some days, honestly, it’s harder than others. But we continue to remind ourselves of two things…1) He never said the journey would be easy. 2) Keep fighting the fight.
So that’s what we are continuing to do. We are fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. We are giving love to those whom have lost everything. We are helping feed those who are dying of starvation. We are modeling to these people what a Christian family looks like. We are so thankful to be living here in this beautiful country. We absolutely love the people here and enjoy what we do. We appreciate you supporting us with prayers and with financial means. Thanks for letting me be honest with you. Appreciate all that you have. Appreciate your cereal choices. Appreciate your television. Appreciate your trips to Wal-Mart. Appreciate your tortilla chips. Remember that someone in the world is praying for the things you have taken for granted today. 
Blessings,
Allison
