Unexpected Surprises, Unexpected perspectives

The day began earlier than I intended. My husband and I had stayed up late last night moving furniture out of our bedroom and appliances out of our laundry room. The roof now complete, the contractor was supposed to be over this afternoon to work on the inside damage caused from December's ice storm. Water had damaged ceiling tiles in both of those rooms.
Well, afternoon became morning when, at 7:30 this morning there was a knock at the door. The next few hours was a blend of workers, noise, and paint fumes. Laura, sensitive to smells, felt ill. We finally left for a while. Megan had not been cooperative. She wanted to see what the workers were doing, not stay in the living room with mom.
Sometimes I look at my life and wonder how we have gotten any school work accomplished this year. Yet, somehow, in spite of all the trials, Laura is doing well and making steady progress. She is finishing up things for third grade that we'd set as goals, plus she is ahead in some areas. I'd love to claim credit, but I know that I didn't do this. God did this. God has helped us both through this first year of homeschooling. Oh, it isn't over quite yet. Of course, neither are our challenges. I have surgery on April 30th, which will leave Laura not doing any work for a couple days.
I am grateful, also, for the perspective God is granting me. This past weekend we had a missionary family that serves in Kenya visiting our church. I was surprised at the affinity I felt with this family. Kevin, the missionary and speaker, talked at length about Kenya and the love God had placed in his heart for Africa. He also talked about how we are all missionaries. The perspective he gave was this...
In Africa, he is there to serve. He feels like a bit of an outsider at times. He has to be in constant prayer for direction and for his family. Yet, he basically said America was the same. There may be more people here that claim to be Christians, but they aren't seeing or portraying Jesus like they should. Our job, whereever we are in the world, is to represent Christ. Our mission field doesn't have to be a foreign country.
Now, I'd heard all this before. However, something about how this missionary related his calling to our calling touched me. I often feel like our family doesn't fit in. I often feel like we are surrounded by so many that do not share our values. I allow myself to get frustrated and discouraged when I shouldn't. In actuality, they are lost. Just like I was once lost; those that surround me in my neighborhood, in our state, in this country; people are lost. They may not have tribal wars, but they have gang wars or, just as damaging, wars with their exes. They may not serve Buddha, but they may serve money or selves. Their idols might not be statues, but the American Dream as they envision that is all about stuff and not about dreams.
Having this vision comforted me that it is alright to be different, to do things differently. Most of the time, though God has been leading me to different things from the norm, I would get upset when those things would be attacked. (Like homeschooling or ministry school.)
The unexpected arrival of the contractor and his crew this morning led to work on my home being done early, even if it delayed school being done. The unexpected perspective from God and a missionary from Kenya gave me perspective on my own life and calling.