The Boring Middle Of It

“It is difficult to recall, much less recapture, the excitement of an adventure’s beginning when you find yourself in the boring middle of it.”  Donald Miller – Through Painted Deserts (p. 89)

Since the last couple blogs have been about projects or ministry things we are doing or trying to do, we thought it about time to give an update about how we are doing.  Life is very normal and can be boring now that we have been in Cote d’Ivoire for 7 months and in our host family for 4.  Just because life is normal doesn’t mean we have everything figured out or we don’t have difficulty language experiences anymore, it just means that we are accustomed to it and we still have to work on it.  I have said this to a couple of friends, life is just life after a while.  No matter where you are or who you are surrounded by, life is just life and  we struggle with wanting to please people or loving people for who they are and not who we want them to be.

What is even funnier is that even though life has settled down to the point where one might say occasionally that it is boring, the desire for excitement and change is no longer there.  Because the things that are exciting and make great stories are the same things that are uncomfortable if not painful to go through and being in Africa usually involve staying up all night, sleeping on a bus 1hr between the two places you call home and have wonderful beds, or getting exotic illnesses which surprisingly is comfortingly similar because you get to have sick days of laying in bed, reading, and watching movies J. 

So this is where we are, the boring middle of our adventure in Africa.  It is really not all that bad, it says we are past the point where every little thing is extremely difficult and communicating the smallest thing takes tons of work, and that we have somewhat adapted to the culture, living situation, and foods.  Another upside of things being boring is that it is great for relationships.  With not much going on we are able to spend plenty of time with our family, with people from church, exploring our town and all the wonderful foods, and in God’s Word personally and as a couple.

Just the other day Jess and I were talking about how things have settled down and it kind of feels like we are in the eye of the hurricane because we look around and it seems nothing is happening, but we remember we have just come through and know it will get crazy again.  Jess then mentioned a verse she read the day before and how appropriate it was for our situation.

I Samuel 12:16  “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!”  24 “But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”

So as we are in the boring middle of our adventure in Africa we look forward to the great things God is going to do and reflect on everything he has done for us.  I don’t think there is much more God wants than for us to be open to what he wants, and to praise him for what he has done in our lives.