Guilt Trip
Our US trip is right around the corner and we are all getting excited and anxious. It seems so difficult to really focus on the activities at hand when I think that in a couple of weeks we willl be on US soil. It may sound cheezy, but as soon as the plane lands in Houston, or as soon as we our wheels cross the boarder, there is a different feel, sound, smell... It's the US of A!!!!
A friend of mine is in the US right now. SHE get's to be on furlough ALL SUMMER! (love ya Jamie, if you read this!!:) She has had some great posts on her blog lately and was recently talking about feeling guilty when some friends lent her and her husband a NICE car and gave them a night out to a FANCY restaurant. She said that guilt plagued her that night in a way that kept her from focusing on enjoying it all! What if some of their supporters were to see them on such a fancy outing!!!
That totally reminds me of the time we were packing to come back to Mexico, and a lady from my mother's church wanted to come over just TO SEE ALL THE STUFF WE HAD BOUGHT! Word got out to her that we dedicate the last two to three days of our trip to packing. At first I felt guilty because of all the stuff we buy. My sister says that Wal.Mart and Target see a boost in their business everytime we go on furlough, and that they should give us complementary stocks in their companies!
We always go out with the clothes on our backs (literally) and come back with the MAX allotment of luggage and carry ons for a family of four. It's like a scene out of THE POISONWOOD BIBLE when the family is leaving for Africa and they layer on clothing because of the luggage limit. Our conversations on the last day before the trip are usually, "No, you cannot sleep in pijamas tonight because we packed them yesterday." or "You have to sleep naked so we can wash what you have on for tomorrow. YES that means undies tooo!!!" and "I know you aren't going to be cold on the trip, but you HAVE to wear your jackets cause they just don't fit in the suitcase!!!" and then there is, "That's why we bought the back pack with wheels, so all the books and homschool stuff goes in the carry ons that don't get weighed! Toughen it up kid, this is for your education!!! Plus it makes you have strong arms!"
It does literally take us 2 days to pack and re-pack! Thinking of this lady coming to see our loot made me also feel defensive and a bit offended that she would want to make a special trip JUST TO GAWK! Out of my feelings of guilt, I quickly tried to explain the heap of purchases by telling her how we don't really buy clothes on the field (yes, for two whole years!), because quality was hard to come by down south. Then I felt angry that she made me feel guilty!
Imagine my suprise when the next time my mom came to visit she brought along a care package from this same lady FULL of things that she had seen in our purchase heap!!! Talk about being humbled! Then I REALLY felt guilty for being offended! This guilt thing is truly tool of the devil.
A friend of mine is in the US right now. SHE get's to be on furlough ALL SUMMER! (love ya Jamie, if you read this!!:) She has had some great posts on her blog lately and was recently talking about feeling guilty when some friends lent her and her husband a NICE car and gave them a night out to a FANCY restaurant. She said that guilt plagued her that night in a way that kept her from focusing on enjoying it all! What if some of their supporters were to see them on such a fancy outing!!!
That totally reminds me of the time we were packing to come back to Mexico, and a lady from my mother's church wanted to come over just TO SEE ALL THE STUFF WE HAD BOUGHT! Word got out to her that we dedicate the last two to three days of our trip to packing. At first I felt guilty because of all the stuff we buy. My sister says that Wal.Mart and Target see a boost in their business everytime we go on furlough, and that they should give us complementary stocks in their companies!
We always go out with the clothes on our backs (literally) and come back with the MAX allotment of luggage and carry ons for a family of four. It's like a scene out of THE POISONWOOD BIBLE when the family is leaving for Africa and they layer on clothing because of the luggage limit. Our conversations on the last day before the trip are usually, "No, you cannot sleep in pijamas tonight because we packed them yesterday." or "You have to sleep naked so we can wash what you have on for tomorrow. YES that means undies tooo!!!" and "I know you aren't going to be cold on the trip, but you HAVE to wear your jackets cause they just don't fit in the suitcase!!!" and then there is, "That's why we bought the back pack with wheels, so all the books and homschool stuff goes in the carry ons that don't get weighed! Toughen it up kid, this is for your education!!! Plus it makes you have strong arms!"
It does literally take us 2 days to pack and re-pack! Thinking of this lady coming to see our loot made me also feel defensive and a bit offended that she would want to make a special trip JUST TO GAWK! Out of my feelings of guilt, I quickly tried to explain the heap of purchases by telling her how we don't really buy clothes on the field (yes, for two whole years!), because quality was hard to come by down south. Then I felt angry that she made me feel guilty!
Imagine my suprise when the next time my mom came to visit she brought along a care package from this same lady FULL of things that she had seen in our purchase heap!!! Talk about being humbled! Then I REALLY felt guilty for being offended! This guilt thing is truly tool of the devil.
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