Perspective

Something to know about trailers, the walls are extremely thin. Which means that if any voices are raised, you can hear the entire thing from outside. Also, because the inside living space is so small, the outside becomes your living space as well which if you are in an RV park, that means a lot of what was once private, now isn't. Many times I've gone outside to my hammock to escape the commotion that comes with family life only to have to go back in because I can hear the kids arguments escalating and needing mommy intervention. Other times, I wonder if our neighbors are going to call CPS on us because I know they can hear every melt down and tantrum any of us every have. 

Last night, it wasn't our turn to have the raised voices. It was our neighbors. They just pulled into their spot a day or two ago and they look like a young couple with their dog. Well, last night I heard them arguing. The woman had just discovered that the man was on drugs and was extremely unhappy about it. He was trying to explain and she was definitely struggling with it. She hasn't been around all day today. I promise I'm not a snoop, its just that when you live so close to so many other people, you can't help but hear and notice things, and their "conversation" was quite loud and quite late last night.

The thing about my neighbor's situation that hit me was how lucky I am. Because of the things we believe and because of the doctrines and the guidelines of our church, we stay away from drugs and alcohol. I never have to question if my husband is ingesting dangerous substances into his body and he doesn't have to question or wonder about that with me. 

While some people see the commandments of God as restrictive, I see them as liberating. Because of what we believe and what we follow, there are so many pitfalls we avoid, things that once entered into are traps that are really hard to escape. Things that might look enticing and inviting, but really take away freedom and choices later on. 

Is my family perfect? Not by a long shot! We all face challenges and we are all human so we all make mistakes. No matter what. But the nature of our challenges are different than if we didn't heed to God's teachings.