Lately, life has been busy to say the least. With this being the supposedly toughest semester in the nursing program, working on weekends, planning a wedding, and trying to fit in family and friends...I feel, well, like the typical American. We are busy, busy, busy! Always working and running around, and often complaining of all we have to do. I have found that I have fallen into the same trap. I compare my schedule with others and the "winner" is the one who is stressed to the max, whose to do list takes up two whole spreadsheets, and whose idea of a good night's rest is a 4 hour "nap" in front of the TV. How do we see that as winning? How does that equal having a joyful life? But so many of us seem to fall into it! Busy does not necessarily equal blessed. And yet we do have responsibilities, we have goals in mind and things to accomplish. This isn't all bad. In fact, it is great to be motivated and working toward something, but may we be aware of the barrenness that can come from a busy life.
I have chosen every single thing that keeps my life busy. I am excited to graduate and become and RN, I cannot wait to marry Mwita, I love spending time with my family, and I enjoy my job! But still, life feels too full and I found myself often being anything but content.
As I have been thinking about all of this, though, I always seem to find a new perspective when I think about my friends in a little village halfway across the world. The wonderful land of Ntagacha! In this beautiful place a know a remarkable woman, Bibi. When I think of her life, her struggles and her busyness, mine does not even come close. Bibi must be in her seventies, at least. Her hard life is written on her wrinkled face. She has worked in the fields under the harsh African sun most of her life.She has kept a home and has raised about eight children. When her American counterparts are nearing the end of their life; winding down, and watching their children raise families of their own, Bibi is still going strong. Her busyness, though, looks quite different from mine. Bibi has seen sickness and war rip through her land and tear her family apart. She has seen the devastation of AIDs come to her front door. Out of her eight children, just two remain. She is not watching her grandchildren from a distance, she is raising them in her home. About half a dozen children have become her responsibility to clothe, feed, and if possible to educate. When she should be winding down, she is revving up. Bibi spends the mornings working in the banana groves and the afternoons at the town center selling the sweet fruit.
Bibi does not going around feeling sorry for herself, though. She does not compare her busyness to others. She does not complain about the hard life she has lived, the sadness she felt burying her children, or the exhaustion that wipes over her body at the end of the day. Bibi talks about the goodness of God. She talks about the smile that she daily wears on her face, about the joy she carries in her heart. She talks about her grandchildren, about how things have changed in the land, and of course about her bananas are sweeter and better than all the competitions! She talks about how she is thankful for having her beautiful grandchildren in her life. She loves each one dearly and desires more than anything to give them a good life. Bibi is busy, but she is not barren. She has not allowed hardships to steal her joy, or responsibilities to take the zeal out of life. She has refused to be defeated, denied being taken down. She is standing strong and brave. Taking care of her beautiful grandchildren, taking care of herself. She has shown me a new perspective, a new way at looking at life. She has not allowed circumstances dictate who she is and what her life has become, she is ruling circumstances. Beautiful and strong, she is raising the next generation.
I am so thankful for women like Bibi. I am so thankful to her for showing me there is a better way. There is a way to go about life with a smile on your face and joy in your heart, sometimes all it takes is a little perspective. And that is just what I'm going to do...
(Though none of the pictures above are Bibi or her grandchildren, they represent countless people with similar stories. Countless grandmothers and grandfathers raising up their grandchildren and keeping it all in perspective...)
