\n
Traveling home from Africa this time was the most hellish trip ever.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact there was a crying baby on every single flight<\/i>.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact my daughter accidentally packed her shampoo in her carry-on creating a long delay for us during security checks.\u00a0 It also wasn\u2019t for the fact that her \u201cslip up\u201d must have, apparently, created terrorist suspicion of me, so the Frenchy she-man, who knew we were dangerously close to missing our flight,\u00a0proceeded to slowly comb through my carry-on with microscopic detail \u2013 making me open up all our Moroccan gifts of nuts and dates then sniffing and fingering them, then sifting through each tile of our Bananagrams and Pairs of Pears games, followed by unwrapping our bubble-wrapped Moroccan pottery, and even frisking all my dirty underwear (seriously?) \u2013 causing us to sprint to our gate to catch our connection to London.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact that the video system was broke on our long flight so we couldn\u2019t watch any movies, or that the 8 hour flight was extended to 9 from poor weather, or that even my African-mutt street dog would have pulled up her nose at the in-flight food.\u00a0 And it wasn\u2019t even made hellish because we landed in Chicago in the middle of a \u201cPolar Vortex\u201d, where much of the city was paralyzed from arctic temperatures hovering at -25F keeping us stranded in Chicago for a night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
No, it was none of those reasons that made this the worst trip ever.\u00a0 It was because we were suffering from a bad case of \u201cknowing\u201d. \u00a0Knowing means you can\u2019t, or at least shouldn\u2019t, ignore the problems anymore.\u00a0 We have always told our kids, \u201cWith knowledge comes responsibility.\u201d This plane ride was painful simply because we had been reminded once again of our responsibilities to those that are struggling in the world and we were forced to confront the truth that we had grown dispassionate.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Spending this past week in Morocco was like peeking our heads out from under the covers of our warm, comfortable bed.\u00a0 We smelled, tasted, felt and
experienced <\/i>life outside of our peaceful, safe, suburban-middle-class, American slumber.\u00a0 When you peek your head outside the covers the immediate frigid cold blast that slaps your face is the realization that much of the world is suffering.\u00a0 It suffers from the relentless grip of poverty, it suffers under the tyrannical rule of dictators, it suffers as children are forced into slavery and to be soldiers in a war they don\u2019t want or understand, it suffers as girls (even as young as 6 yrs.) are chained to beds naked and forced to have sex as often as 20 times a day, it suffers as families who fear genocide must flee from the only home they\u2019ve known and move to another country to live in a tent and squalor for decades, and it suffers when all these things and so many, many more are taking place this very moment and we refuse to do our part.\u00a0 If I am honest, I must admit that our 2 \u00bd years back in the states has slowly induced a state of drowsiness, where we were sheltered from the world\u2019s problems and were focusing more on ourselves and our stupid little first-world problems.\u00a0 It happened insidiously, but we had begun caring too much about things like finding all the right Christmas presents, our kids\u2019 getting enough playing time in their sports activities, our favorite collegiate teams winning in sports, having the right outfit to wear to parties, redecorating our house, or planning our next vacation.\u00a0 Do not misunderstand me here:\u00a0 none of those things are necessarily bad in and of themselves.\u00a0 But if we allow these things to define our existence, then we may need to stick our heads out from under the covers.\u00a0 The world is huge, the needs of this world are catastrophic, and I believe we are NOT supposed to live in a myopic, self-serving slumber, but that we have been called by the Creator of this Universe to engage somehow, some way, to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth.\u00a0 To do that, we must be informed of the great needs of our day, whether in some far-off land, our own city, or our own backyard.\u00a0 And then, with palms open heavenward, dare to ask of God, \u201cWhat about me<\/i>, Lord?\u00a0 How do you want to use me<\/i>?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
I have often wondered if the reason our Lord has tarried so long in returning is because He was waiting for the information age.\u00a0 He knew that there would come a day whereby the click of a button would give us access to information regarding the human condition everywhere else in the world.\u00a0 Before the internet, I\u2019m not sure we would have been held accountable for understanding and responding to the suffering in the world.\u00a0 Now, we have no excuse.\u00a0 We all know.\u00a0 Or do we?\u00a0 We also can choose to
not<\/i> click that button and not<\/i> look at what is happening outside the warmth and comfort of our plush, 400-count, down-filled duvet covers.\u00a0 We can keep our heads buried if we want to.\u00a0 We can choose ignorance \u2013 and maybe that feels good for a time because we don\u2019t have to own the pain of the world\u2019s suffering.\u00a0 I will agree – it is painful to stick your face out of the covers and experience that cold blast wake-up call.\u00a0 But as we flew home on that treacherous, hellish flight, and as I wrestled with the pain of \u201cre-awakening\u201d to the suffering in Morocco, I decided ignorance might be bliss, but knowing is better.\u00a0 I refuse to live my life choosing to ignore that which I believe God has called us to engage.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
When I didn\u2019t know I had this incurable lung disease, I was blissfully ignorant.\u00a0 Those cysts have been on my lungs for many months, probably even years, I just didn\u2019t know it and I lived my life as if they were NOT there.\u00a0 I was aimlessly meandering through life almost as if I were immortal \u2013 believing there would always be time
later <\/i>to get my life in order and do the really important stuff.\u00a0 When I first received my diagnosis I was devastated \u2013 furious with God to the point of giving Him the silent treatment (27 years of marriage and resorting to the silent treatment in our big fights and I still haven\u2019t learned that it is childish and entirely useless\u2026). \u00a0Yet, I now see that God was lovingly allowing me to come to terms with my mortality.\u00a0 And it is because <\/i>of that diagnosis that I re-evaluated everything and am choosing a more pointed, focused and engaged life.\u00a0 It was nice when I didn\u2019t know about the disease because I could ignorantly live my life under the warm and comfortable covers and believe everything to be just fine.\u00a0 Yet, my lungs were being invaded by disease!\u00a0 Everything was not fine at all!\u00a0 Even though I\u2019m now aware this disease may take my life, and it was pure pain getting that news, I still believe knowing is better.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
One day, after I had received my diagnosis, I was sitting in our comfy chair facing out to our wooded backyard.\u00a0 I sat in silence with God and felt a chill down my spine as I took in the view.\u00a0 Everything appeared incredibly spectacular:\u00a0 \u00a0the sun seemed brighter than ever before, the snow seemed whiter, a cardinal perched on a low-hanging tree branch seemed redder, and the sky seemed bluer.\u00a0 I soaked it all in and found myself acutely aware of every single gifted breath I was taking.\u00a0 I knew I\u2019d been given new eyes \u2013 and I saw that all things had become more remarkable and noteworthy and magical – and I don\u2019t think I would have taken back my old eyes even if God had offered.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Traveling home from Africa this time was the most hellish trip ever.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact there was a crying baby on every single flight.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact my daughter accidentally packed her shampoo in her carry-on creating a long delay for us during security checks.\u00a0 It also wasn\u2019t for the fact […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,25],"tags":[93,98,115],"yoast_head":"\n
Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better. - Cindy DeBoer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better. - Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Traveling home from Africa this time was the most hellish trip ever.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact there was a crying baby on every single flight.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact my daughter accidentally packed her shampoo in her carry-on creating a long delay for us during security checks.\u00a0 It also wasn\u2019t for the fact […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-29T23:43:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-08T13:46:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cindy DeBoer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136\"},\"headline\":\"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better.\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-29T23:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-08T13:46:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":1343,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"MOROCCO\",\"POVERTY\",\"TRAVEL\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Life Overseas\",\"Morocco\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/\",\"name\":\"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better. - Cindy DeBoer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-29T23:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-08T13:46:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/\",\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1\",\"width\":924,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Cindy DeBoer\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136\",\"name\":\"Cindy DeBoer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cindy DeBoer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/author\/cdbmaroc\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better. - Cindy DeBoer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better. - Cindy DeBoer","og_description":"Traveling home from Africa this time was the most hellish trip ever.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact there was a crying baby on every single flight.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t for the fact my daughter accidentally packed her shampoo in her carry-on creating a long delay for us during security checks.\u00a0 It also wasn\u2019t for the fact […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/","og_site_name":"Cindy DeBoer","article_published_time":"2014-01-29T23:43:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-08T13:46:58+00:00","author":"Cindy DeBoer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cindy DeBoer","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/"},"author":{"name":"Cindy DeBoer","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136"},"headline":"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better.","datePublished":"2014-01-29T23:43:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-08T13:46:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/"},"wordCount":1343,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["MOROCCO","POVERTY","TRAVEL"],"articleSection":["Life Overseas","Morocco"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/","url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/","name":"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better. - Cindy DeBoer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-01-29T23:43:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-08T13:46:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/2014\/01\/29\/ignorance-is-bliss-but-knowing-is-better-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ignorance is bliss, but knowing is better."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/","name":"Cindy DeBoer","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#organization","name":"Cindy DeBoer","url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/cropped-cindydeboerlogo.png?fit=924%2C512&ssl=1","width":924,"height":512,"caption":"Cindy DeBoer"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ac88bb25b526d02f231ed1d250da136","name":"Cindy DeBoer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c6eea04bed353203780faca6f2397dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cindy DeBoer"},"url":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/author\/cdbmaroc\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Cindy DeBoer","author_link":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/author\/cdbmaroc\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3841"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3841"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4089,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3841\/revisions\/4089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindydeboer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}