(Jason and Cameron at the Denver Aquarium, near the tiger ?! exhibit)
Cameron is no longer allowed to use the word "weird". At SPLICE we learned that "different is just different", it is not weird, bad, unusual, strange, awful or any other word with a negative connotation. And so now, whenever our family encounters something that is different, we have a new mindset.
(Cam strikes a mermaid pose on one of the climbing rocks at the awesome MTI playground)
The problem is, WE are different.
(Jason soaked up every minute of the Air Force Academy tour)
I realized on the long drive home that we are now the ones who are different. We are the ones who are leaving the comfort of the known for the discomfort of the unknown. We are the ones whose hearts ache for new friends scattered across the globe. We are the ones who have been changed by our time away.
(The kids riding a buffalo, as all Coloradans do, at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center)
You at home are not weird, bad, unusual, strange or awful for not having this calling. You are different from us. We need you to be different. We need you to love us, support us and pray for us. We need you to be different.
(The girls were prepared for trick-or-treating and the SPLICE gang was ready and waiting at every door. Jason was out with his friend's family for a birthday party.)
From now on we will be different. We will be those strange missionaries who come "home" but feel awkward because this is no longer our home. Our kids will have cute accents. We will spell words incorrectly.
(Brian and Emily are Hayden's new best friends. They are serving with Kids Alive in the Dominican Republic.)
So the question is: are you ready for this? Are you ready for the difference? Will it change our relationships?
(Cam and her new friend Emma. Now when she says, "Mom, I wanna go to Uganda SO BAAAAAAD!" she has another very good reason.)
Or will you continue to check out this blog, send us emails, reply to our statuses on facebook, and love us from across the pond?
(We all froze at the Grand Canyon. Here Hayden does her best to keep her hood on.)
We promise we'll write back. We promise to love you back.
(The kids take a break from walking at the Hoover Dam. Insert dam joke here.)
Because really, difference can be a good thing. And different can just be different.
3 comments:
Well....we're not from your home town but we'd love to keep in touch from the DR! :o)
We will be reading your blog and being "different" right along with you! Thanks for putting it all so well! We miss you and your sweet family. :)
Tearing up just reading your blog and enjoying the pictures and knowing it won't be long until you all leave us for a different life in Scotland. We will miss you all so very much, and will definitely continue in prayer for you and all that the Good Lord has in mind for you! We love you!
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