A few evenings ago, I was in a bajaj (a small motorized taxi). The
driver had a person on each side of him while I was sandwiched in the
back between a very old man who looked very poor and mom with her
little boy. The little boy was holding a red balloon tied to a stick
and he looked like he had just come from a birthday party. The
little boy was probably four years old.
I saw the old man eyeing the little boy- when suddenly the little boy
leaned over and in a very brave move...he hit the old man on the head
with his balloon, then started giggling.
My mouth fell open in shock.
I looked at the old man expecting some of kind of scolding to erupt,
but I watched in amazement as the old man's eyes began to twinkle
with new life and his face broke into a toothless grin. He started
laughing.
Soon the little boy and the old man were deep in chatter- both
talking and giggling back and forth. It was one of the cutest and
most endearing things I've ever seen.
Even after the little boy and his mom left our taxi, I saw the old
man still smiling.
Interesting what can be learned from a little boy with a red balloon.
We can learn so much from kiddos (kids). They are intrigued by the
smallest things. They're delighted by what we so often overlook.
The other day, I saw a little girl stare at her reflection in the
mirror, then she kept making funny faces at herself. She kept
laughing, so funny. The same day, I saw a little boy jumping off of
a small step, over and over. He was thrilled with the tiny drop and
delighted at his own success to master the jump. So cute.
On of my favorite kid memories here was when I saw a little girl trying
to drink a cup of coffee- so cute in her trust that she would like
the bunna she saw her mom drinking, even though the cup was almost as
big as her.. :-)
On another day, I saw some kids leaving their school. They were probably in 2nd grade. Suddenly they started running towards me and I stopped ready to be mobbed by them- asking for candy or money. To my surprise, they ran just beyond me to some open green grass. When they reached the grass, all of them started doing somersaults, rolling over and over, delighting in the freedom from school and enjoying the beauty of play. I began to put my things down to join them, feeling excitement and the freedom to enjoy tugging at me to do the same, when I suddenly realized I was in an embassy area and I remembered my age. Reluctantly, I refrained. But regretted it later. I would have been a sight. But it would have been fun. :-)
Observing kids in their play has made me think about my own life in
recent days. We often lose our wonder...our awe...of life...of God's
work in us and among us, don't we? Things become ordinary, mundane.
We lose our bravery to investigate when we're curious. We lose our
desire to roll down a hill or turn a somersault or two or start a
balloon fight with a stranger that leads to a new friendship.
And then in the midst of it all, we don't enjoy life anymore.
I think there is much God loves about children...their wonder...their
curiosity...their bravery...their play...their honesty...their trust....that God doesn't want us to lose.
Luke 18:16-17
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God
belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not
receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
One of the things I have loved about being in Ethiopia is that there are
still many things here that are still not ordinary to me. Sights, sounds,
smells- views of mountains, skies, big birds, big bugs, herds of various
animals, little kids dancing, so much that makes me laugh or stand in awe.
 |
| street scenes |
 |
| beautiful skies |
 |
| big birds flying by and pick-up futbol games |
 | |||||
| the view from my office window :-) |
Little kids finding rhythm :-)
But sometimes I fail to embrace these wonders and thank God for them, even here. I get busy or distracted and sometimes walk right past the extraordinary hand of God holding something together or even working in my life.
I believe God wants us so much to see Him, know Him, experience Him, delight in Him, share Him.
I've also been thinking this week of God's people overall, the
"Church." How would the world describe us?
Would they say....
They're
people who live in gratitude to God. They give thanks. They
live in wonder of God and marvel at His work in their lives. They are
joyful, spontaneous, full of life. They live in appreciation of the
big and little things God does in them and around them. They trust Him with big faith.
Or would more people describe us, God's people, this way...
They're
boring people. Mundane. Too busy. Missing God. They live not in
wonder of Him, but often wandering from him. They're rigid.
Lifeless. Ungrateful. And they only trust in themselves.
OUCH.
Unfortunately it seems we don't learn to truly live in appreciation of
something until we have to go without it. The old saying is often
true- you don't know what you've got until it's gone.
May that not be true of us. May we begin to live grateful now if we
haven't been. Remembering to give God thanks and the days were given.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
This Thanksgiving, my prayer is that I will live more grateful to God for all He's seen me through. For all He's done, all He's doing, and for all He is to me...and that I will fully embrace the life He's given me...my remaining time on the planet. That I will trust Him like kids trust those older than them to lead them...and that I follow Him with joy.
 |
| following in TRUST |
 |
| enjoying life |
The heavens
declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal
knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard
from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words
to the ends of the world
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Onward with you in gratitude. And know I'm sincerely grateful for each of you!!!
Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving!
Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving!
-Continue to
keep my Dad in prayer as he recovers from back surgery. His back
is continuing to heal
and we give great
thanks!
-Please
keep my good friend and
former co-worker, Debelle, and
his family in prayer.
His wife is very ill and
remains in the
hospital.
-Please keep
our staff here in prayer.
We've had some staff
transitions this past
week and freshmen have
started classes. I've enjoyed my new students very much. Pray that
God will give them a great first year of school and that we can serve
and teach them well.
-Please
continue to pray for many still seeking work, that God will open up
doors and that hearts will stay encouraged.
-Please pray
for the draft of my book, that
I will continue to have
time to write.
-Please pray
for those needing work visas, visas out of Ethiopia, etc, that God
will provide and His perfect will be done.
-Pray for me
as I try to plan my "break time" in the USA- that I can get
home for Christmas as God allows.
-Please keep
Ethiopia and its leadership in prayer, as new leadership arises- that
it may be blessed and favored by God.
No comments:
Post a Comment