Not Your Mother's Bedtime Story

Once upon a time, there was a brave-faced young woman named Maggie. She put on a good show for everyone that her life was exciting and fulfilling and in turn, everyone assured her that her future was bright.

When the time came for her to stop hiding behind an education and actually start living life, Maggie froze. She panicked and did some stupid stuff in an effort to maintain some semblance of normality. She simply wasn’t ready to grow up.

Then some magical things began to happen. Things started to go all sideways for Maggie. She was unfairly fired from a job she worked very hard at. She had to pack up her life and move very quickly, which was very disorienting for her. Thankfully, there were good people in her life: people who metaphorically helped her steady herself and literally gave her a place to stay.

In the middle of all the sideways business, Maggie tried desperately to find a job, any job. Some of the jobs were silly—jobs she neither wanted nor was qualified for—but she applied anyways. Nothing was coming together for Maggie, and she was sad, yes, but also bewildered. Why wasn’t anything going the way she planned?, she wondered.

After all the sideways parts of her life settled, Maggie found herself back at home, with a family who loved her. It was a good place, a safe place, but not the place for her to stay forever.

Then one day, a woman from across the oceans and the seas contacted Maggie. The woman called herself Mrs. O and she offered Maggie a job and a place to stay. Even though the job was very far away from everyone and everything she knew, Maggie was very excited. She had wanted to learn how other parts of the world live ever since she was a little girl. This was her chance!

After 5 weeks of research and reading, paperwork and packing, goodbyes and farewells, Maggie kissed her family goodbye, got on a plane, and flew 6,000 miles away to her new home, a strange, sunny place called Africa. Just like that, all of Maggie’s fears about growing up and moving on melted away with the African sunshine.

And oh, how Maggie loved Africa! She loved the sights and the sounds, the people and the places. She loved her job, her house, her church, and all her new friends. For the first time in her life, Maggie felt that she was living her life on purpose. Africa was the place she was meant to be, and all those crazy magical sideways things happened so that she would get to Africa; she saw that now.

There were some dark times, too. Just like the scary thundering storms of the rainy season, there were times that Maggie just wanted to run home, to a place that wasn’t so new, wasn’t so hot, wasn’t so dusty. She called her Daddy, who told her he loved her. She called her Mama, who told her she was proud of her. She called her brother, who told her he was a big fan of North America. Because of their encouragement, Maggie knew she could finish what she started in Africa. And the sun broke through the clouds; the wind and the rains settled.

As much as Maggie loved Africa, Africa loved her back. The sunshine gave her more freckles, and the dust made her clean her room more often. The bugs and the lizards made Maggie a little bit braver, and the power outages made her grateful. The traffic made her buckle up. The traditional outfits made her fit in with those around her, and the traditional dishes made her love spicy food. The way Christians and Muslims lived side-by-side in her town made Maggie stop and think, and the ways they fought in other towns not far from her made Maggie cry and pray.

Then the day came when Maggie had to decide whether she would stay in Africa another year or whether she would come home again. She thought of all the ways Africa helped her become a grown-up, of all the ways it pushed her to try new things, and she was grateful for the lessons Africa taught her.

She also thought of everyone back home, everyone who had been praying for her and missing her and standing by her and encouraging her. She thought of other possibilities and new opportunities and she was scared again of what lay ahead. Staying in Africa would be the comfortable choice, the easy choice. Maggie knew what it was like to live life in this part of the world, and as much as she loved it, she knew that now she had to make the next difficult decision.

So she decided to go back home, to a place that was familiar and comfortable, but to a future that was still unknown. She took deep breaths and cried many tears and steeled herself for many long and sad goodbyes to Africa.

She remembered what another wise, brave woman once said: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

And finally, Maggie knew she'd made the right decision.