Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Simple.

So, I got a lot of flack on Facebook from my good friends Lauren and Graham about eating Froot Loops and listening to Taylor Swift while doing some Spanish homework.  It's okay, I can take the heat :)  But as I tuned into the Taylor Swift Pandora station here tonite I couldn't help but get caught up in this song.  (And for those of you wondering how I can get Pandora in another country, shoot me an email because I've become a mastermind at accessing content not available outside the US!)

So, the song is Never Grow Up.  Now you may not think much of Taylor--she's not the best singer out there, not the best songwriter out there, can be cheesy in interviews, etc.  BUT, I like how honest she is.  She really does sing from her heart (whatever you think of what's going on in her heart :)  And these lines caught me:

"Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up, I could still be little.  Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up, it could still be simple."

Simple.

Does anyone know what that is anymore?  As I look for a car and an apartment here in Costa Rica because I'll be moving to the other side of the city in the next month or two after finishing language school, I'm reminded of just how complicated being a "grown up" really is.  I have to consider safety, negotiate with savvy male car dealers, manage my budget, oh and still do everything else in my life at the same time.  Simple?  No.

My friend posted this dialogue on Facebook a few days ago:

Linus:  If you have some problem in your life, do you believe you should try to solve it right away or think about it for awhile?


Charlie Brown:  Oh, think about it, by all means!  I believe you should think about it for awhile.


Linus:  To give yourself time to do the right thing about the problem?


Charlie Brown:  No, to give it time to go away!

Hahahaha!  I just LOVE that.  Who doesn't want to give time for our problems to go away.  How many of us think that will actually work?  If I just walk away from this leaking sink and leave it be for some time, the leak might go away.  If I just leave my computer for awhile, the translation paper might just write itself.  Or better yet, if I just give my heart some time, I bet I can love this hard to love person.

Nope.  Doesn't work that way does it?  It's not simple.  It's complicated.  Very, very complicated.

I read this book awhile back called Big Girls Don't Whine.  I thought it might help with the whiny, complainy, I don't want to deal with it--side of me.  It really didn't.  Haha. But I've been struck ever since by the title.  Little girls (and boys) whine and cry when they don't get what they want, when someone won't share with them, when life gives them lemons, when they are tired or hungry or cold or angry.

I wish I had the luxury sometimes!  Wouldn't it be great?!  But what's even greater is what I see God doing in my heart.  How He's changing me from the inside out.  Drawing out that whiny, compainy, I don't want to deal with it--side of me through some really hard, tough, not fun, just plain complicated stuff in my life.  And each day He's showing me more that it's not Big Girls that don't whine, but HIS girls.  Because I'm HIS I can have joy and peace in the midst of the craziness of life.  It's right there, I just have to decide that being HIS girl is more important.

So while some days I still want to scream along with Taylor at the top of my lungs:  "Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up, I could still be little.  Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up, it could still be simple."--I try to hand that part of me over to the One who desires for me to really "grow up" in Him.  Here's to "growing up"!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

May Newsletter and FLASH FLOOD!

Yep, folks, it's newsletter time.  If you didn't get it in your in-box and would like a copy, email me ali.c.campbell@gmail.com!

In other news, we recently had a flash flood at my house.  Thankfully nothing was really damaged, just some mild water damage on some things that were being stored in the covered garage area outside my house.  But the water rose so quickly (within 15 minutes!) we were afraid it wasn't going to stop!

After seeing a flash of lightning that seemed to fall right beside my bedroom window, I went out in the living room to find my host mom peering out the door...just then she exclaimed, "Ali!  Mire, mire!"  Ali, look, look!  We watched anxiously as the water rose and rose.  Then realized that as cars crazily continued to pass by our street, they created a near tidal wave of water that splashed up into the garage and was soaking some items stored behind the car.  So we hurriedly moved several boxes, two wood columns, and a chaise lounge into the house.

And then it was over as quick as it began and the water receded.  But take a look at some of these crazy pictures!


The water as it began to rise....


The water at its highest. The gate in the upper left-hand side of the picture 
is where the entrance to the garage is.  


A look down my street.  Notice the tree on the right that is half under water.  
The park on the left flooded as well.  There was probably five feet of water in 15 mins.


And the cars just kept coming, even with water over their headlights 
and up to the windows.


But this car just couldn't make it.


Evidence of poor judgement on the part of drivers.  One man came
back to claim his license plate, which are apparently incredibly hard to replace!