There are so many things that I wish I had done since we moved away from our village a year ago. Some examples are:
0. Gotten Mariama braces. That poor baby's teeth just do not fit in her mouth.
0. Let William take surfing lessons.
0. Taken the kids to do pottery on a regular basis, even if it was all the way across town.
0. Had Mariama get guitar lessons.
It was so hard to think about starting those things, when we never knew how long we were going to be here in the capital before going to our next location. When we did find out, it was like a fast moving train and holding on for dear life to stay on board.
There are so many reasons to be glad that we have been here for this transition time.
0. Getting used to city traffic. While here may not have the traffic of our next location, just by shear numbers of people, it is considerably closer I suspect than what traffic was like in our village. (We might need a defensive driving class when we go back to the states and not need to drive our first week or so, after driving offensively overseas.)
0. We have finally been able to make a shift from buying groceries for months at a time to weeks.
0. I had one type of attire in the village. I have been able to transition to a variety of clothing options while here in the city dependent on where I am going, what I will be doing, and with whom I will be doing it. This will be important in my next location as well.
0. Kids have been able to attend school for a semester. While there are those activities that I wish I had done, this has offered them a lot of extra activities as well. Not the same activities, but still good. Girls have been able to do pottery, and William has been able to learn more about computers. William has done archery and Mariama is learning to play volleyball.
Jesus told us to not worry about tomorrow, for today has enough trouble of its own. Looking back is good to learn lessons, but dwelling on it will not change anything. While there are things I often wish I had done differently, the only day I can really do anything about is today. While there are lots of things I wish I had done, most days I can look back and say, "I listened to His voice and cared for my family, doing the best I could do." Today is a gift, which is why it is called the present.
But (I hope) I did it His way.
