PEELING THE BAND-AID

martin dugard paper kenyan blog peeling the band aid.jpg

Be careful what you pray for. In anticipation of a season of change, I asked God to close doors that need to be closed and opened those that need to be opened. Open windows were also mentioned.

Now, I didn't make the mistake of praying for patience. Last time I did that a Job-esque continuum of hardships and overdue contracts soon followed. I will not be lobbing that prayer heaven-ward again. The simple act of being led in new directions was not that sort of extended hardship. Instead, it was a band-aid being ripped violently from the flesh, a series of abrupt and emotionally disruptive life changes from which there is no return. I won't bore you with the details; we all have our trials and surprises. But I feel staggered in a way I have not felt in a decade.

So what to do? Move forward. Bash on, regardless. Siempre Adelante. Be open to new challenges and solutions. I literally asked God for all of this, so I should not be surprised that he took me up on this — any more than contestants on Ellen Degeneres' "Game of Games" should be surprised when they drop through a hole in the stage after a wrong answer.

It's not neat. It's not pretty. But it's on.

Eagerly bracing for what's next.