INDIA THROUGH MY EYES
(Sunday, Jan 20, 2013) For those of you who prayed, I slept much better last night. Please keep praying, still much room for improvement but I thank God for it!!!
By the end of this trip I’ll have logged almost 6 months total time in India. While I’ll never get used to the idea of being in India, I do notice changes in how it has impacted me over the years. Here are some observation, in case you are interested and have nothing else to do at the moment!
I CAN TELL I’VE BEEN IN INDIA BEFORE WHEN:
I no longer count the number of people on a motorcycles or animals on a bicycle.
A 10 hour plane ride sounds like a great opportunity to rest and read.
I can travel for 4 weeks with all my clothing, food, magic, teaching materials and personal items in one carry-on suitcase.
I can calmly ride in a car without even watching the traffic zipping crazily in front of us.
I know which spice leaves to not eat and which are OK in the food I’m given.
Converting dollars to rupees and vice versa becomes second nature, and so does figuring out the time back home.
The horrible poverty of the masses starts to look commonplace and loses its shock value.
The smell of the air in the cities no longer surprises me.
I can say common greetings in Hindi and Telugu.
I automatically clean my hands with sanitizer after shaking hands with a stranger.
I drop from taking 6,000 pictures a visit to 600.
Children and animals defecating in the rod in front of me only cause me to veer a past and miss them without giving them another thought.
Open sewers are hardly noticed.
I don’t take pictures of raw beef and chicken covered with flies hanging out in the sun all day.
I am no long self-conscious about being the only white person within miles.
I’m more interested in keeping sand from between my toes all day than standing in the Indian Ocean.
It doesn’t bother me that only one or two people within miles can speak fluent English, and even then it is their second language.
I can ignore cripple children who beg from me without being tempted to stare at their infirmity.
I no longer try to understand how or why people live in such awful conditions.
Traveling on the left side of the road seems natural.
I know what a food item is going to taste like by looking at it, without having to take a bite.
I can read while driving without having to look up every time a horn honks.
It seems more natural for people to go to the bathroom any time and place.
My body no longer expects food or sleep at preset times. It’ll take either whenever.
I no longer reach for my camera every time I see cows laying in the road.
I automatically go by my rule: never pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom, you never know when the next opportunity will be!
THINGS I DON’T THINK I WILL EVER GET USED TO (AT LEAST I HOPE NOT)
The hospitality and giving of the Christians in India just blows me away.
The vast numbers of people everywhere all the time is hard to grasp.
The great love, joy and appreciation of the believers in India.
The extreme amount of human and pain and suffering everywhere, and the hopelessness with it.
The amazing variety and beauty of the sari’s the women wear for every activity.
The darkness that surrounds everything Muslim.
The privilege of coming here with a message of life and hope.
The wonderful feeling of going quickly through customs entering the USA, knowing it is my country and I am always allowed to enter!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
How has your perception of the things around you changed over the years? Think of your surroundings, job, relationships, etc. Have they changed or has the way you look at them changed? How has your perception of God changed? We know He doesn’t change.