Taking Things for Granted

So tonight I entered the bathroom and began to play the game Catherine and I do with the light switch.  We have 2 light switches but they don't turn on at first so we flip them both on and off about 10 times trying to get the right pattern and the right pressure to have the lights come on.  In one of the apartments I stayed in for a while it was a similar experience trying to turn on the lights in the bedroom and at times when cooking in the kitchen the lights would just go off.  It was really no big deal we would just wait for them to come back on which they would eventually do.

Tonight after I got the lights on I turned on the shower and waited for the warm water to come which it never did.  Eventually Catherine helped me turn a button on the shower head which made the water hot.  I did not know about that button and I stay away from touching the shower heads because with most of them you can be shocked if you touch them.  Ours does have the shock thing too but at least now I know about the button.  Also many showers do not have a shower box so the water goes all over the bathroom, after we are done with the shower we take a big squeegee and mop up the floors.

All of these things are just a normal part of life for many Brazilians.  For me, they just add to the adventure of living in another country.  However, this week I have been reflecting on the things I have taken for granted in my life in the U.S.  Lights and a warm shower are part of those things.  Also, a clothes dryer and perhaps one of the most important is heat.  I do miss being able to turn on the heat when I am cold. The houses don't have heat here.  I am going to buy a little heater but have not done so yet.

I started thinking about this topic last week when I was visiting the woman's prison.  We have a heath group with senior woman on Wednesdays.  As I sat in the circle of about 9 woman who are moms and grandmas I noticed they have such a desperation when it comes to their families.  Last Wednesday I listened to their stories and their desperate pleas for help and I thought about all that they have lost.  These woman have nothing and yet it is not the conditions they live in that they care most about it is their families.  I thought about the fact that when everything is stripped from a person what is the greatest need and desire, family.

I can understand this somewhat because there are times when I really miss my family and friends.  And yet my situation is different because I can skype or email or call my loved ones.  If necessary I could get on a plane and go home.  I have the freedom to make choices these woman do not.  And yet when I think about how my life will be different because of my choice to live as a missioner I believe that I may not take things for granted like I might have in the past.  Yes, water, lights, heat, peanut butter, those will all be things I will notice.  However, the most important thing I believe we should all not take for granted are our family and our friends.  Those people who stay with us in good times and bad and stand by us because they love us. I ask myself  if everything was strip away from me what would I miss the most...family.