It’s day 16 of being in Uganda. I’ve rafted the Nile, kissed some of the most beautiful babies in the world and shaken more hands than I could ever count. I’ve spent a few days in a gorgeous village going hut to hut just to talk to people and tell them God loves them. I have given my first sermon and learned some local dance moves.
On the flip side I’ve shared my bed with a foreign beetle, eaten something I wouldn’t normally call food (I still don’t know what that was) and sweated buckets in the intense African sun.
I’ve been experiencing a lot of physical things that are foreign to me and I love this experience, but so far I am much more emotionally impacted. I’m discovering that when God wants to teach me a lesson He keeps giving it to me until I finally get it. Sometimes that takes a ridiculous amount of time!
Just hours ago I was wishing some things were different. I wanted to rewind an uncomfortable situation so that life was easier. But because of my situation I turned to God in need and He didn’t dissapoint me. It confirmed something that has been coming back to me again and again: God strips us of all things familiar, all the earthly things we depend on so that we have no choice but to depend on Him. It is in those times that we become the closest Him.
The Africans don’t have have of the things I do, yet I see some of them verbally proclaiming God’s goodness wherever they go. I long for this closeness with Him, no matter the cost. Trust me, it’s worth it.
What have you been depending on that takes away from your dependence on God?
For me there are many answers to that question. But, I have a feeling that as my time in Africa continues that list will become shorter and shorter. Awesome 🙂
