Black or White

And I’m not referring to skin color.  Rather, I’m referring to life and how nothing is as simple as it seems.  Sorry…today’s going to be a boring one, but I’ve been doing some contemplating and feel like it’s the time to share.  It’s been interesting as I’ve gotten to know people here better, and started to see some of the layers that we, as human beings, all have; layers that we sometimes try or hide, or maybe it’s just that we don’t flaunt them.  I love that as you get to know people better, generally 1) you feel closer to them, 2) you begin to understand and, therefore, love them more, and 3) you realize how similar we all really are.
But this beauty of human beings and our layers brings with it difficulties.  People are not one-dimensional, so what is being exhibited on the surface is often not indicative of what is going on underneath.  It’s so hard to explain without going into details that I don’t want to go into, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think one of the challenges in this life is trying to understand people when what they say or do is often not really what their thinking or feeling.  What is it that makes us say one thing when we’re feeling another, or not say anything at all when inside we’re screaming?  What is it that makes us get angry when really we are sad, or run away when what we want most is what we’re running from?  I don’t know exactly.  I think a lot of it is pride and fear - not wanting to look dumb or be vulnerable and being scared of what others may think or do if we’re completely honest.  Also, I don’t know about you, but half the time I don’t really even know what I’m feeling, so how on earth can I clearly explain it to someone else?

And that’s what makes life so un-black-and-white.  Human beings are all different, so there’s no prescribed “right” way to handle a situation, even if it’s one you or someone else has encountered before.  And a situation that seems to have a simple solution to one person could be an incredibly difficult problem to another.  Sometimes it’s overwhelming to experience this “gray matter“ - those problems that don‘t appear to have a clear solution.  And sometimes it’s even worse when a friend is going through it, and nothing you do or say can fix it and make it right.

This is one of the reasons why I’m so grateful for prayer, that direct line to our Father in Heaven who loves us and is all-knowing and all-powerful.  It is through prayer and scripture study that I find comfort and peace even when I don’t have all the answers.  And it is through these powerful gifts that I discover the answers that I’m grasping to find.

On a lighter note…today was Friday…which means - FOOTBALL!!!!  Except…right after school I find out the teacher’s meeting that was supposed to be in the middle of the day was moved to 4pm (another reason to be grateful to teach in Hawaii! = )  So…after feeling super bummed…I decided all was not lost and decided to stay and see if we could play after (plus I needed to stay in the office ‘cause I had some keys and stuff for people in the meeting, and people come to make payments and register new students, etc. until late).  Theresa said the meeting should be about an hour…and encouraged me to stay and try to convince the boys that we could still play a good hour/hour-half before it got too dark.  Well…their meeting didn’t end until like almost 6! (although I had a lot of work to do so it wasn’t all bad)  When one of the guys came in after the meeting I was like, “I’m so bummed we couldn’t play today,” and he was like, “No, we’re playing right now!”  So I ran and changed and we played until we couldn’t see a thing!…haha = )  It was so fun!…and we were beat the students for the first time = /  Reminder to be grateful for lights at indoor = )

Just wanted to include a pic...Hannah Montana in Ghana = )