Spring Cleaning, but it's not spring!

Hmmm. what is it about the change of seasons that brings about the almost instinctual urge to open up the cupboards, pull out the black plastic garbage bags and clean?

After an absolutely lovely day of worship, then lunch at my daughters (yummm!!), I came home with every intention of taking a Sunday afternoon nap...then it hit. First, it was nothing more than a twitch..then before I knew it I was up, plastic bags in hand, and cleaning of the cluttered shelves in my youngest girls room. From there I hit the bathrooms with the Handy Andy -scrubbing everything that our dear househelp misses week after week. Three bags of discards - 1 rubbish, 2 handme downs and hopefully my girls will have a maintainable room for a while, and my bathrooms smells fresh and clean once again.

There are still leaves hanging out in the bottom of the pool that the kreepy crawly isn't getting, and dusty spots here and there, but hey! It's dark now, and that urge, for now, has passed. And I'll shortly be cuddling up with my hubby and watching his favorite show....

Caught Between Two Worlds

Experiencing new things has always been exciting for me and has fit well into my philosophy that life is an adventure. One thing I never really took into consideration is how those new things can impact my future, or even my very being.

There are decisions I have made in my life that I look at now and realize have left me caught between two worlds.

Africa has seeped into my blood - our decision to move here was never with the intention of permanency. We always felt that there was a time frame of purpose, then we would return having experienced all God had for us here - then we would go back, hopefully a little wiser and naturally older, to our "old life". While there are things I definitely miss about my home, I think that I will ever have a longing for this place - the people, the culture (yes, even the frustrations) and neither place will ever hold the contentment experienced when I only knew the one

Even when I started working, it was meant to be simply as an assistant in getting David's business off the ground. I love being a wife and mother, however now that we are nearly 4 years into it, I cannot ever picture myself as I once was.

It brings to mind a spiritual truth about being here on earth, yet yearning for heaven. Once we have experienced the truth that is in Christ, the things of this world are no longer as satisfying. We live our life on earth, loving our families, experiencing the beauty of God's creation, yet longing deep inside ourselves for our eternal home.

Does this mean that I wish I had never "tasted" of Africa or that I had never reached for new things? If I had never, then I never would have known the beauty and joy in those new things. And life would be monochrome in it's experience. I long for the full spectrum and cannot wait for the day that I am in the place that is the source of this longing - and where I will find the fulfillment of all these longings, and will still the sense of being caught between.