Our day starts like many of yours I am sure, with the alarm
going off at 6am. Not that I am ready
to get up yet, but I need to turn on the hot water heater if I want to have a
hot shower at 6:15. Then it is a shower
and getting the girls up at 6:30am so they can get ready for school.
Breakfast, backpacks loaded up with lunches and homework, as
we prepare to head out the door by 7:15 am when Nathan is also heading out to
the hanger to begin the days work. His
morning commute is about 45 mins to go the 15 km, from our house to the hanger.
Our drive to school seems very normal now, when at first is
was very overwhelming to drive here. We
could encounter a number of things; cows wondering up to the grass area, taxi
vans, as they pick up passengers heading off to work or school, motorcycle taxis
called boda bodas as they weave in and out of traffic or simple having to
navigate through the pot holes and speed bumps that are very numerous.
After the girls are at school, I head back home to begin the
house work and laundry. I may make
a stop to pick up some chicken for
dinner from our Ugandan friend who grows them as an income for her children to
go to school. Depending on the day, I
may have ladies Bible Study, or need to go out and get some groceries. I might spend my afternoon, helping in
Lauren's class at school, preparing my Sunday School lesson for the 5-7 year
old class at church or baking to keep up with the demand of snacks for my
family. Before I know it, the afternoon
is gone and it is time to go back and pick up the girls from school. We are part of a car pool, so some days I
don't have to drive which is nice too, but if I am on for pick up I head to the
school for 3pm dismissal.
After school snack, homework and dinner prep, fill the rest
of the afternoon as we wait for Nathan to return home around 5:30pm, all
depending on the traffic. The 15km drive
usually takes even longer on the way home. Then dinner while chatting about how school went and the events of the day, before more homework, dishes and getting the girls off to bed. Most days are pretty average and comparable to yours I'm sure.
But interject into all of this, days when the rain is pouring so hard that open fields look like lakes and the ditches look like rivers, days when I kill a few cockroaches and a invasion of ants in my kitchen, Days when a quick trip to the grocery store turns into forever, as I get caught in a stand still traffic jam.
But also days when I speak encouragement into the life of a friend, or get to know the man at the produce stand and more about his family. Days when Lauren draws a picture so she can give it to our guards. Days when Hannah and Jasmine reach out to a special needs girl at school or Aliyah writes a note to encourage someone who isn't feeling well. Days when I spend time getting to know someone or reaching out to help. Days where the beauty of the people and the country around us outweighs the frustrations and inconveniences.
God gives us all kind of moments among the normal days, to show His love and kindness to the people we encounter. My days might take place in Uganda, but He uses all of our days and the events in them, to draw us closer to Him and for us to realize that we need Him in every moment.
How is your day going?
