You know how when God is trying to teach you something you will hear the same message everywhere you turn? Well, before I left for Kenya I knew God was telling me and training me to wait and watch for him, to not plan so much of my life, to make room for him in Kenya. He has taught me a few more lessons. While going through the first couple of days there, following three extremely tiring days of travel, Michael decided that the theme for our trip was "God knows what He is doing." So that became our saying. "God knows what He is doing" was said every time we were caught by surprise by the tragedy of someone's life there or when things didn't go as planned which was a daily occurrence. Saying that truth forced us to watch for what he was doing or to even expect it. How would that change all of our lives if we started to watch and anticipate his presence in our lives and in the lives of those around us?
Another message I think God is trying to teach me is that "STUFF" doesn't matter. This has been a life long lesson for me. Living in the U.S., I knew before even leaving for Kenya that I'd be shocked by how little the Kenyan people have in comparison. But the flip side of that is what surprised me most. I've got a lot of stuff! And at times I worship that stuff. Wow, I really hate to admit that, but it is true. I even have a pile of stuff I bought in Kenya still sitting in the middle of my floor and I already love it all. So what's my take home? Why is God showing me this? Does he just want me to feel bad? I think he wants me to ask myself, "Carole, what do you value?"
Wrapping all this up in my head and shaking it around a bit brought me to a conclusion. God wants to "devastate me" with his presence, with who he is. He wants that to be what "butters my bread" so to speak. He wants that to be the salt in my life. I'm hungry - can you tell? We had the chance to go on safari while in Kenya. The animals were amazing, but what constantly captured my attention was scenery - the views across the plain were truly breathtaking. My eyes welled with tears as we drove out the final day. How cool is it that God made his creation so beautiful, so pleasing to our eyes? He didn't have to do that. I thought how blessed I am to have seen this.
Could that be what life is all about? Could it be that every person we meet, every place we go is really all about knowing Him better? I met people in Kenya I pray I will never forget. I saw Jesus in people that live on the other side of the world. He's big! He is sovereign. He is creator. He alone restores to us the joy of our salvation. He is all that he says he is! I pray I don't forget.
As Michael and I looked over our pictures from safari one night. I commented that God created for us a beautiful place to live. Michael saw this picture and said, "Wow, God is really workin' it there."
No comments:
Post a Comment