Little Steps Make Big Strides

For two days now I have been breaking out into pretty serious hives in the middle of the night. Aaron and I keep trying to figure out what I'm allergic to. It remains a mystery. I've had quite a few health-related struggles since I've been in Afghanistan. Asthma, chronic coughing, sinus infection, bronchitis, allergy attacks, etc. For me, this is a big deal. I rarely get sick and I can be pretty dramatic when I do. It's easy for me to give into "feeling bad" here and to stop trying hard at what I'm doing. I reached the point yesterday where I thought that I should just give up. Living in a place like this and trying to cope is not my thing. I'm much better at painting watercolors, teaching and learning in a professional environment, and cooking gourmet meals. I really dislike being sick and cold all the time and having to push through it.

We were driving to the Ladies Institute and as I glanced to my right, I saw a 2 year old girl with no pants on, hobbling along the dirt road. She had a missing foot, but this didn't stop her from jumping across the sewer and catching up with her older sister. Her little black head bobbing up and down as she purposefully drove her stump into the ground. She was using what she had to play. I screamed out loud and the guys in the car jumped a little. I was shocked by the sight. Here I am with my long underwear and nice warm layers and this baby has no pants on in 30 degree weather. The tragedy of her situation smacked me hard in the face. A surge of adrenaline hit me and I almost had the guys stop the car. I wanted to pick her up and hold her. I wanted to tell her that she shouldn't walk on that foot; that she needed some pants and shoes in this freezing weather, I looked at her face through the window as we passed by her and she was beaming from ear to ear.

Her voice rang loud and clear to me: "I will". Her crooked little steps are still running through my thoughts today. She's chasing the good stuff. She may not ever catch up to her sister, but she's happy along the way. Moving through life with a smile and a laugh, though one can't imagine how bad she must hurt sometimes. Here I am with my allergies and they seem so small by comparison. God must know what some of us can endure and what some of us can't. I won't say that I'll be stronger in the future, but the reminder that we can push through much more than we could ever imagine is money in the bank.