With the passing of Easter weekend and all the significance it holds, I've been thinking about life, material wealth, health and how they're all so temporal (uh oh, here comes a deep post...). Admittedly, I find it easier to contemplate wealth and lack thereof living here. We are finding that with our situation here it is actually easier to enjoy the 'finer things in life,' which we usually link up to food and good fun. Maybe that is why it's easier to experience the sense of guilt that comes with driving through poverty-stricken areas (which, honestly, is pretty much all of the Indo I've seen, with the odd pocket of upper class neighbourhoods tucked about). We sit in our nice, new (first time for everything) car, a/c blowing and usually, a cd playing, and we drive around the streets between Lippo Village and Jakarta. I have to admit, I love the drive, except when it's a turtle's pace. No matter where we are, there's always something to look at, but again, it usually has a sense of poverty attached.

For example, you can tell that the highways ran right through some villages years ago, because right next to the 6 lane byways are farmers ploughing their fields, harvesting their rice, and shepherding (huh?) their caribow (cattle that look like buffalo). Ragged bits of clothing hang on sticks shoved into the rice paddies, to help keep the pesky birds away. You can see decrepit little bamboo huts spotted throughout the fields. They are usually leaning over so far that you wonder how anyone can keep out of the rain and stay dry in them. What is particularly interesting are the Charlie Brown trees that hold myriads of torn kites along the side of the road. It doesn't matter how little money you have, you can always make a kite!

So there's the poverty along the roadside. It's more evident in the city, and I've posted a lot over the last 2 years on what I've seen there. However, there's also another kind of poverty here, and it's worldwide. It's the kind where people strive to look good, whether it's financially or physically, in leadership or employment, in making a name for ourselves while we're here. Here in Indo, presentation is everything. I don't think it is much different in North America much of the time, even if it is a subtler idea. Ultimately though, who cares? I know that I put years of paint, scrubbing, sewing, trim (well, that was Tris), and finally we put in new floors and windows into our house. It looked good for a time, but there was always something else to change, to fix, to improve upon. We're no longer in that house and I was still spending precious thought time (which I have a lot more of here) thinking of those horrible metal sliding doors we had in our bedroom. WHY? I still want to change them and we don't even own the house!!!

As my thoughts swirl and spiral about, it comes down to this: all is for naught, if you don't know why you're here. It's not to look good. I am a Christian, I believe that I have been put here, as God promises, for a purpose, and although I don't always know/believe what that is, I still trust that He knows what's going on and that if I give Him control, He'll give me direction. I still strive, although I'm not sure why or for whom. Probably myself most of all. As I age, as each Easter passes and I contemplate the death and resurrection of Jesus, I hope that I will one day get it, understand it to the core, that He really is the only reason I exist, and that He's the one who is in charge of 'looking good,' not me.

Thanks for reading.