There’s nothing more fun than experiencing something new with someone for the first time -like catching your first fish, eating your first American burger, or driving by your first cul-de-sac mansion.
Seeing your life and culture through the eyes of someone else is eye opening.
It’s wild how it changes the way you see your life and gives you a completely new perspective.
It’s the kind of perspective that makes you pause and really take a look at what you need and what you want and what you have and the difference between all three.
It’s the kind of perspective that reminds you to compare your life to those with less instead of those with more.
It’s the kind of perspective that interrupts your life.
In the last few weeks, I’ve found that some things are harder to explain than others:
- Halloween (scary decor, decorated yards and costumed adults in public)- What can I say? I don’t even really understand this.
- Free drink refills- “How many times can I refill my cup?” “What happens if I refill it 17 times?” “Are you sure this is free?” A conversation we’ve had every time we’ve gone out.
- Savings accounts and disposable income-It’s hard to imagine having enough extra money to put it away when there’s always someone you know who doesn’t have enough to eat for the day.
- Storage units- “You mean Americans have so much stuff they have to rent another building besides their house to keep it in?”
- More emergency vet clinics than emergency rooms for people. (I will throw in explaining Petsmart just for kicks)
- Mega churches with mega buildings, campuses, stores (you get the point).
- Garage Sales-So, people sell what they don’t want or need any more and then they buy more?
- Complaining about terrible, horrible no-good days (in which no one dies)
- Costumes for pets (See #1)
- Hobbies-Lesiure time and extracurricular activities for kids (that you pay for)
- 30 minute meals-It takes hours to sort, soak and boil beans and when you finish cleaning up one meal you start on another.
- Bikes for the whole family (or scooters or cars).
- Freedom to own or use a gun.
- Nursing homes-Paying others to care for your family is something many cultures don’t do.
- $5 cups of coffee
- Racism.
- Dishwashers-Well, first you wash the dishes, before you wash the dishes…
- The baby equipment aisle at Target.
Learning how others live might just show us how we live, too.
Thanks for always keeping us rooted in reality, Kristen! Sometimes we forget just how much we have… You make me want to be a better person, and always give me ways to do it!
We don’t do Halloween decorations, or exterior Christmas lights. I Freecycled our artificial Christmas tree last year; we had the Advent wreath instead.
I will add, there are only 2 adults and 2 rescue dogs in this household.
I would love to hear more about Oliver’s impressions. During the firestorm that was your article about Muslim refugees, the one thing that really hit me was his impression of the mega church and his comment — do we serve the same Jesus? Ouch!! It makes one feel sheepish.
I love this. I remember describing a drive-thru to my Kenyan friend (“You drive up, stay in your car, tell the person in the small box what you want to eat, then drive around the building and they give it to you.”)
She thought I was absolutely crazy. And the more I tried to convince her, the more crazy I sounded to myself! By the end, we were both belly laughing at the absurdity of it. Oh what sweet memories.
Awesome story!
Well, this offers me a good starting point of things to try to explain to hubby before we go to the US to meet the rest of my family. (Only my mom made it down for the wedding.)
I can understand almost everyone of these. I traveled the world and fought in some of the worst environments on the planet.
However, #16 is not one I agree with. Racism exist around the world in even the worst parts of it.
More wars have been fought over race and religion than any other reason.
Ethiopia in the 70’s, was a perfect example.
If you add up all the documented wars, only a mere 6% can be considered fought because of “religion”. If you remove wars that were provoked because of radical Islam, and round to the nearest while number it comes to “0”.
Almost all documented wars have been because of issues other then religion.
When we were first married, I thought didn’t have much. We worked just to pay our student loans, car payments, and rent on a cheap, old, outdated rental house. We had a few pieces of furniture given to us by family. We often complained about the lack of money and “stuff” we didn’t have. Then, my husband took a mission trip. The people had dirt floor shacks, rags for clothes, and barely anything to eat. But, they were thankful and happy. My husband came back changed and we started to look at what we did have instead of what we didn’t. We became thankful and happy. Whenever we start to fall off the tracks, we stop and remember how blessed me are.
Walk in closets and driving your bike to a location to ride it. Even the explanation sounds absurd!
Number 8– complaining about bad days, is my pet peave!
I read this blog yesterday then went and volunteered as a helper at a consignment sale. This sale is run twice a year and they sell children’s clothes, toys, bedding, books… anything having to do with kids. Family after family brought in totes of clothes, toys , books etc to sell . I was overwhelmed by the quantity of items all the same size that these people had. How would anyone explain that to a person from a third world country.
You know that there is a Pottery Barn ad for Halloween costumes on the right side of the blog, right? Otherwise, a worthwhile reminder of just how good we have it.
Those ads change and are based on what the reader (not the blog owner) has been looking at on their computer. So we can both be on a blog at the very same time and you might see a halloween ad and I might see an ad for dance leotards since I just bought some online for my daughter. Just thought you might want to know.
Such a great reminder as we go about our “normal” everyday lives.
Thank you so much for your inspiration. Your blog helps me focus more clearly on God and the blessings that we have. It is so easy to fall into the comparison trap, next time I do I will remember to look in the other direction. Love in Christ!
Wow! How convicting! We have so much, but yet we are ungrateful and complain on our “hard day’s” that sometimes really are not very hard at all! Thanks for giving us perspective!
I thought for sure after I saw the pic of the fish that this list would include catch and release fishing. “Wait! you go through all that work to catch a fish…but you DON’T eat it?!?!”
About 5 years ago a family from Kenya moved to our town and they have become amazing friends to our family. Some of the tough questions we’ve been asked are “Why do kids drop out of school?”, “Why are there homeless people?”, “Why would someone break into my 15 year old car and steal a radio that doesn’t work?”
Thanks for the reality check. I’m from the U.S. And even I don’t get having so much stuff that you need to rent a storage unit.
Powerful post! Great perspective to think about.
I remember so distinctly coming home from my mission trip in Thailand, and all I could see when I looked around my house was how many places a child could lay his or her head. Then I would watch HGTV and see people declare an outdated kitchen “unlivable.” I just felt so disgusted with myself and my culture. It’s a difficult thing to reconcile.
Thank you for this post! I believe with all my heart that Jesus places people, things, moments in our life to convict, bless and help us grow. This post was one of them for sure. ? It was so heart challenging having gone through a really hard parenting week and feeling so miserable about our one bedroom apartment for the three of us to share. I looked around at all we DO have and cried because I’m so grateful to have a place to call home and that we’re able to parent and love our little one, even in the cramped and hard times. Especially when I know some children don’t get to grow up with parents and many families would love to live in our tiny home. Thank you for the reminder. Love and blessings to you and your sweet family.
Great article! i would add a few other things in the list!. I belong to what you refer to as “third world country”, as a suggestion that term is very detrimental, please use “developing country” instead.
Thank you!
The problem I have with the term “developing country”, is the same problem I have with ALL PC rhetoric. Developing countries will always be “developing”. Everyone taking offense at nearly everything has to stop somewhere.
I was so blessed by your blog this morning. We were missionaries in a “third world country” for 10 years and cringe at the “more,more,more” mentality here. I hope to NEVER lose that cringe–it keeps my spending and accumulating in check.
I personally don’t see anything wrong with Halloween my kids love it. Racism is everywhere not just here. Venting about our bad days helps to overcome them it doesn’t mean we are unappreciative of what we have in life.