Susan LaffertyHot sun, blue sky. The ocean waves were high and constant at Kuta Beach in Bali that summer of my sophomore year in college.
It was a familiar place. Site of many family vacations. But no longer the empty beach of my childhood.
Tourists flocked there from all over the world. And hotels lined the ocean.
The journals come in all sizes. Most have survived extremes. Dust and drought. Mold and humidity. It shows.
They hold my life records. The common, daily occurrences of a cross-cultural life. The ongoing spiritual battle.
And the struggles of our children in the midst of it all.
Constant illnesses. Anxieties. Hurt. Fears.
In dust and drought. Mold and humidity.
We’ve lived in places of extraordinary beauty. The spectacular so commonplace in my daily view that I forget what I have. Right in front of me.
Then there are the other places. The hard, trashed out, desert places. No electricity on the hottest days. Water shortages. Just plain, hard living.
I forget in those settings too. Forget to look for the beauty.
In my last post, I shared part of that journey to find it even in the unlikely places.
And through a variety of countries and cultures along the way, I’ve learned a few simple things.