Home Again

It is so good to be home again. As Pruitt and I rolled away from the bus station, balancing our backpacks and hanging on tight to the seat of the rickshaw, he turned to me with a contented smile and said, "It's so peaceful and quiet here." I had to agree with him, especially after a couple of hours of bouncing on a bus that had a very loud horn, which was used hundreds of times as a warning signal to everyone else on the road. After we got home, Austin went out for some take -out breakfast, which consisted of curried gourd of some sort and parotas. The boys and I spent the rest of the day settling back in, while Austin had meetings pretty much all day until it was time to catch the last bus and go back to Dhaka for some more meetings today. The rest of us were quite happy to stay home.


During the day I couldn't help but notice that someone was throwing sand from our roof down onto the neighbor's roof where some sort of construction is in progress. Later I heard a scraping sound and my heart sank. It sounded as if the entire sand pile, that the boys loved to play in, was being taken away. We all went up to take a look and, sure enough, it was pretty much gone. When I asked why, I was told that if the laundry fell down in the sand, it would get dirty. I was thinking, "Hello! The only people who hang laundry on that side of the roof is us, and we use clothes pins!" Then he said something about the sand ruining the water pipes when it rained. Maybe he was talking about the drains. The boys were so heartbroken but are taking it rather well. I was so glad I had these photos taken just before our last trip, so you can see where they used to play. We went up on the roof today and they ran some races instead. Now if I could just find some sidewalk chalk...

It has reminded me that so much of life is out of our control. Sometimes the only thing we can control is our attitude. Which, for me, is easier said than done. I keep wondering what is going to happen on the next-door roof, which is just outside my kitchen window. Are they going to put a wall up around the whole thing, blocking my view of some lovely trees and the sunset?


I wouldn't mind not having people be able to look into my kitchen window, especially the young men who like to lounge around. But still I think I prefer a constant view of trees to the sometimes invaded space. But what if they build a room there, with a window looking directly into my kitchen? Knowing what is going to happen won't change anything, but knowing my heavenly Father has a plan and that he really is looking out for my good, helps to calm my questions. There will always be "what ifs" and there will always be disappointments, but there will always sunsets (even though I may have to go on the roof to see them) and there will always be reasons (even though I may have to wait for eternity to see them). In the meantime, I'll try to enjoy what I have.