Freedom and Closure

I wrote the following bit and never posted it, so here you go:

The morning ride to work is one of my favorite parts of the day. We pick up a few coworkers on the way to the hospital, so we take a circuitous route that goes from the main, paved road to dirt roads and huts. The multiple schools in the area all have different uniforms, so you see hundreds of kids with different colors, running and jumping and playing on their way to school. The best outfit is worn by two little boys who I see nearly every morning: they look to be 5 years old and stand hand in hand on the side of the road, waiting. They wear a little white cap, a purple plaid button-down, a purple vest, and purple shorts. We pass one red dirt field surrounded by huts that has crisscrossing paths with dozens of children streaming through from all directions. It’s a beautiful sight. All the children carry little jugs with water… but many times I see them crouching by a ditch, filling them up with that water. Many of them carry little straw brooms because they sweep the school grounds. They walk with their school books on their head, good practice for when they have to carry huge sacks of grain or whatnot. Sometimes we pass a row of people outside their huts brushing their teeth. I’m so proud of them.

My last day at the hospital, the staff asked me to speak in chapel. I shared what I had been learning from Romans 8 and the glorious freedom we have as the children of God. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+8&version=NIV

We’re free from condemnation, shame, sin, and death. Since we are adopted as God’s children, we’re free from fear and free from the world’s hold on us.

We’re free from focusing on our struggles because our present sufferings aren’t worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

We’re free from the fear of failure, because if God is for us, who can be against us?

We’re free from the fear of trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword, because none of these things can separate us from the love of Christ.

We’re free from the fear of death, and free from the fear of life.

We’re free from the fear of present circumstances or future circumstances.

We’re free from the fear of anything else in all of creation, because nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We’re free to love as Christ loves.

We don’t have to live under the power of shame, sin, or fear, because we have the glorious freedom of being the children of God and the ultimate freedom of knowing Christ as Savior and knowing that nothing can ever separate us from Him.

 

I had good closure with the staff at the hospital and the people I had met in the city, able to say proper goodbyes. These 8 weeks were a wonderful break from the busyness of life at home. I didn’t get to see an elephant, but I saw zebras and monkeys and way more lizards, snakes, frogs, and bugs than I wanted to. Guess I’ll just have to have another Africa trip to see an elephant. Y’all can come. God had many things for me to learn during this time and it put many things into perspective. Many of the lessons seem cliché, but become very real when you experience them instead of just reading about them:

-Witchcraft is real and there is great deal of darkness in Africa. I know we’ve all heard it, but it’s very true that God’s light contrasts so sharply with the darkness. It’s very obvious to see someone who has the love of Christ here, as opposed to at home where someone may love God or may just be a nice person. Praying to God instead of paying a local healer to perform rituals such as burning or tying charms is quite noticeable.

-Learn how to pick up frogs and kill snakes. You may not always have someone else around. Do it. It’s perfectly acceptable to scream while doing so.

-Westerners value life, whereas Africans may lose 4 out of 8 children and are somewhat more nonchalant about death. Don’t stop valuing life.

-Even though our life expectancies may be longer, I’m not sure that we enjoy life as much. Sit down, drink a cup of tea, and enjoy your family and friends.

-Depend on God, not only for physical needs, but for emotional needs. I’ve found I can’t just manufacture peace and joy when I’m frustrated and dealing with others’ deep needs and suffering. It has to come from a true dependence on God.

-Be grateful, always be grateful. Especially for clean water and electricity.

-Jesus is everything. Put everything in your life in perspective with that truth.

 

I am so grateful for all of your support and prayers and encouragement. I’m glad you were able to share my experiences with me through this blog and hope to be able to see many of you in person soon! I would love to take my own advice and slow down and share coffee with you.  Please contact me using any of our marvelous modern technology and let me hear about your life and any prayer requests.

Love you wonderful people!

“Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:39