When I moved to the Horn of Africa, I did my best to “expect the unexpected.” However, I still find myself saying, 9 times out of 10, “I didn’t sign up for this.”
In our home culture, we often have natural responses to extra stressors, we can easily identify our limits, and understand what we need to refresh. In a new culture, these things are not as easy to figure out. Even though I am a fairly self-aware person, I still had to basically relearn how to handle stress, identify my boundaries, and set my limits. This means that I had to figure out what to do when yet another thing was presented to me, one that I did not sign up for.
Some of these things were challenging. Like, really really difficult. Others were hard but later seen as blessings in disguise. Some of these things presented to me were so full of joy I don’t know why I hadn’t signed up for them in the first place. All this to say, when living overseas we are faced with numerous things that we “did not sign up for.” My challenge, to myself, is to really identify what is being presented. If it was not something I “signed up for,” then how can I best handle the situation, task, or opportunity with grace while still being authentic? How can I draw my boundaries and set my limits in a context where my plate is overflowing with to-do lists? Unfortunately I am still not entirely sure, but the Lord is giving me a lot of grace in this season. He is reminding me that He bares these burdens and while I did not know they were coming, He has been prepared since the beginning. Thank you Jesus!