Temporary

   You can endure anything when you think it's just temporary.  Our family's stay in the States since June 2011 has been a good example of this.  We didn't intend to come and stay here for as long as we have, it all came about so suddenly and we were not prepared for it; but we quickly threw together a home with the help of generous and kind folks here and certainly weren't picky about the color of the towels or brand of pots and pans or size of beds or matching sheets.  After all, we were just making do for a short while.  "It's just temporary," we tell ourselves.  When we try to give a squirmy 8 month old a bath in the kitchen sink and start to wish for a home with a bathtub in it, we think to ourselves, "Hold on - it's just temporary!"  When we see dirty clothes growing mold and wish we had a washer and dryer in the apartment so we could wash clothes more frequently we quickly remind ourselves, "It's just temporary!  What's the loss of a few articles of clothing now and then for the sake of getting through college debt free?"  When we'd really like to turn up the heat or turn up the air on the thermostat, we instead bundle up or open the windows and think to ourselves, "It's just temporary!  Winter will soon be over or the cool night will soon be here so just tough it out!"  When we've really wanted to splurge and buy a bumbo seat or a walker for Nile, it's easy to remind ourselves that he would only need it for a few months and then be ready to move on!  This stage he is in is only for a short time - so temporary!  Just wait a little longer and he won't need it! 
   What a great lesson we are learning!  Hold on a little longer, wait just a bit more, endure for now - it's all just light and momentary (temporary) affliction!  The hard part is remembering that our WHOLE life on earth is just that - TEMPORARY!  We can endure so much more and be so much tougher for the sake of getting through this life sin free if we can remind ourselves that it's just temporary!  Heaven awaits!  It is tough, though, and we need encouragment.  We have begun our preparations to get back to Ghana by September 2012 and it's...honestly...a bit scary.  Reality faces us when we step back into the country - HEAT, mosquitoes, cockroaches, malaria, other sicknesses, power outages, dirt everywhere, cold showers, water outages, traffic jams, air pollution, arduous public transportation, hostility and rude remarks, armed robbery, limited internet, high prices, different food, and busy busy schedules!  We are praying God opens the doors for us to return and stay for the long haul.  We are in this for the long term...yet it's just temporary.  All of it!  Just temporary!  This world is NOT our home.