Contentment

Something that I have been trying to grasp is being content.  Being content with whatever my circumstances are.  At times I do well with this and then at other times I am frustrated with the way things are going or wish things were different or so on and so forth.  So lately,  with Mike out of the house for the majority of the day and me home alone with the three kids, I found myself at first trying to run and do whatever I could to keep ourselves busy and not go crazy, but in the middle of last week, I realized that I needed to just accept the fact of how things were and find contentment in it all.  Yes, I am a mother of three boys, and yes, I am in a foreign city away from family, and even though at times it is not fun, this is how it is.  So, since I have come to terms with it, things have been going much better.  I have been trying to spend more time with my neighbors and learn this silly language, instead of running from here to there spending time with all my "western"  friends.  So tonight we went downstairs and hung out with all the "ladies".  I wish I could have had a picture of it.  Here I am surrounded by about 8 women, 7 of which have their heads covered.  They are all speaking Arabic and I am trying my best to follow, but mostly just catch words here and there.  Then there is a wedding across the street from us, so we all gather to the sidewalk to watch.  They way they do weddings here is that the groom and his family (I think, if I understood right) comes to the brides house and they play all this loud music and he goes up to get her and then they come back out together and his parents are dancing in front of them as they parade off to the car and then the whole entourage is off to the reception.  I just had to wonder what it would look like from and outsiders perspective to see this white girl in the midst of all these arabs.  Although one of my neighbor's daughters are pretty fair skinned, so maybe as long as I don't open my mouth I will fit in.  (well, except for the fact that I don't have my head  covered).  Anyway, it was a good night and I am finding more contentment these days!  Praise the Lord!