A different perspective

Today I received an email from one of my Liberian co-workers telling me that his home had been attacked by armed robbers last night. While he was not harmed, one of his relatives had been wounded, and the family was shaken up. However, he came to work, and was trying to live a normal day. I learned that another family had experienced the same thing over the course of the same evening. Apparently it is more common during the rainy season, because the rain gets so loud that people are unable to hear the perpetrators approaching. It’s also more likely to occur in those neighborhoods that are situated far off of main roads in near total darkness.

As we were discussing the events of the past evening, one of my Liberian co-workers said, in a very matter of fact way, “People survive by the grace of God in this country.” This is a phrase you hear often when Liberians talk about living through the civil war. There is no rational explanation for why some people survive and others’ lives are cut short, why your neighbor’s home is targeted and yours is not.

I suppose the taxi driver had it right with “who know tomorrow.” Liberia isn’t secure or developed or controlled enough for its citizens feel safe every hour of the day. Nothing is guaranteed – not a ride to work, not three meals a day, not a steady paycheck. And I get frustrated when a restaurant doesn’t have an item on its menu or the city is out of soymilk! Taking life day by day with the understanding that each extra “something” is a blessing may make life a bit sweeter.