My World Is Turning Green 11 May 2016

There are many things in this world that I simply don’t understand. Why are young female students still being forced into arranged marriages? Why are students killed by reckless drivers? How can students adequately show their knowledge with a grading system that is 65% based on two tests? Why is corporal punishment still being practiced? Why is the plural form of sheep still sheep and not sheeps?

So many question filter in through my days here. This week being mid-exam and “practice” exams week means I am getting lots more questions. What is the difference between “for”, “ago” and “since”? Why is it all students instead of every students? If the rule states that verbs ending in CVC (consonant vowel consonant) one has to double the consonent before adding suffix (ex: runà running) why is the continuous tense of draw drawing and not drawwing? Why are you leaving after 3 months? Why did you go to America for only two weeks?

We all know the feeling of being boggled. The dictionary uses anxious, hesitant, overwhelmed, and astonished to try to describe the feeling. But today as I went for a walk during exams, I realized a deep peace in the fact that my world is turning green.

When I left for America two weeks ago, the land was being scorched by high temperatures draining everything and everyone’s energy. There were ten shades of brown and only a few of grey in the landscape. Kids’ colored plastic shoes and uniforms were like the only color in a black and white movie.

Now in what seemed like a barren land there is a twinge of green. Grass is growing for sheep to munch on with more ease. Corn stalks are tall and healthy sprouting blonde wigs. The mountain is gradually being clothed in a green blanket. At school, trees that seemed like tall standing twigs for so long are slowly filling out their branches with deep green leaves. My world is turning green.

There are many things I do not know or understand. But there is peace in what I can count on. The rain may come early for unknown reason, but the results are the same. Language may be hard to comprehend, but the twinkle of eyes or lips with a smile is universal. Hardships hit like a hurricane without warning, but friends are right there to lend support.

I only know shimmers of the future. I have three more months here which house 3 weeks of classes, two weeks of break for 9^th grade students, 1 week of final exams, 1 week of Peace Corps Conference, and another week of English Leadership Camp. I then head out to get back to the States 2 weeks before new teacher trainings for my new 4^th grade position in Hermiston, Oregon. While that sounds all mapped out, I have no idea how any of it will go or what happens once September comes.

But that’s okay.

On my way back from America I had to spend an unexpected night in Addis due to my flight from Dubai leaving 30 minutes late and baggage taking forever to be unloaded. I thought my plans were ruined and rolled eyes as I got caught in a tsunami like downpour without a jacket or umbrella. However, that delay allowed me to watch “The Jungle Book” with friends in a theatre in Addis I didn’t know existed, have dinner with wonderful friends I haven’t seen in months, meet amazing Israelis on my morning flight who showed me new places in Axum, and appreciate being back even more. My plans weren’t followed, but that just allowed God to remind me that He had other ideas for how I would spend my time.

It’s okay to not know everything or have day go as planned. God’s got it covered better than we can fully comprehend. So even when the questions seem to bog us down, we can look around at the constants, like spring coming or God’s guidance, and find peace.