What I like to do when I’m feeling a bit under pressure, and I see no immediate
One of my favorite things when my mind just won’t shut off: A movie or binge TV. I like to turn on a tv show and watch as many episodes as
I can until my eyelids are so heavy that I will absolutely fall asleep without
thinking about the thing that pushed me to binge watching.
I think that a few mission training programs ban any television watching unless it is news in the community room, or some other strict rule to help students focus. It isn’t really setting a precedent for life, it is more like removing a distraction so that the student can become more fully immersed in the mission training experience. All that is very valid, and it probably helps people to think about the things that their mind would try to convince them to run away from.
So, I’m not suggesting that binge TV watching is the best therapy when the mind is clouded or crowded with too many thoughts, but it is a bit mind numbing when a certain missionary momma is disappointed with the outcome of her attempts to wrap up her BA degree…or other un-resolvable conundrums.
I remember the first time that a guest asked why my husband and I didn’t have a television in our home in Mozambique. He was so astonished that we could unwind without a TV. What about news and sports for my hubby? We told him that we used our Laptop for watching DVD’s, and showing the kids films. He didn’t approve of our lack of a Television. He asked a string of questions to confirm what our reason was for not having a television in our home. Did we have religious objections? Was there a rule against a TV in our home, or on the ministry base? Did we not enjoy watching TV or movies? And his string of questions ended in his emphatic promise to send my husband a brand new flat screen TV all the way from California to Central Mozambique. A flat screen TV was a new type of television in 2005, and it literally cost less for him to purchase one in California and send it with the next person who visited us in Africa.
That was an incredible gift, and a well-used one. It may seem lavish or even a waste to someone who is more concerned with meeting the very real and very desperate needs of the people struggling to survive around us. However, I am convinced that my ability to love on desperately poor children was improved or prolonged because I was able to completely unwind in front of silly comedies, Bollywood films, foreign and local TV shows after a long day of over stimulated emotions so we don't become tired of loving. What a lot of expats and missionaries might not be aware of is exposure to cultural stress and heightened emotions for extended periods of time can cause compassion fatigue in many people.
That TV was a lavish gift, and a practical one. It might be hard to understand life in a foreign country, but sometimes thinking about it one more time isn’t the best path. Sometimes, being entertained is exactly what helps us remember that we are normal people and reconnect us to the limits of our humanity.
Its ok to come up against a boundary and be in a quandary. It’s ok to be human. It’s ok to be a human who has limits, and even weaknesses. That’s what makes humanity so wonderful, each of us sees different areas of need, has different skills and different gifts. It’s our joy to meet one another and learn from each other’s different strengths. In that way we can build each other up and be a blessing.
I’m thankful for the blessing you all are as I’m encouraged
to keep writing!
Lots of love,
Missionary Momma Mia
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