I’m sitting outside of our team house in Swaziland. The air is warm and the breeze brushes my skin as I sit with my back along the maroon painted building with my feet resting on the loose, crunching, red dirt stained gravel. Mountains fill distant sights and the skies are clear and pale blue. There’s a group of men sitting a few yards from me who just got off work. They’re sitting in the shade having conversation. Next to me is my teammate, Tanja. She is sitting with a girl who is probably 9. They are both sitting with a red colored pencil in hand. They’re not talking much with each other, but they’re enjoying coloring together. I can hear the teams inside our house laughing and yelling at one another in playful spirits. There’s a card game going on and it sounds like Neala keeps winning, which at this point, none of us are surprised by. There’s a pig that just walked by me- that’s become a normal sight. This is Africa. This is Swaziland. This is life.
9-10-15 Swaziland
After nine months, I am realizing the importance of taking moments to breathe in life, embrace it. moment by moment. Breathe in the smells of the dry, dusty air. Feel the wind gently brush by as it grows into a gust. Listen to the sweet ambience that surrounds you. No place on earth will ever smell the same, feel the same or sound the same. There’s no place on earth that will replicate where you are today. That may mean sitting alone, laughing with the young kids who walk barefoot, making a friend in line at the grocery store, being beat at a card game….the list is endless. Whatever you do, whatever you find yourself in- embrace it. Breathe. It. In.
I think I will miss it here. I always miss the places I took the time to embrace. The places in which I made time to sit and breathe and feel and listen. The places I have LIVED. Those are the places I see God. Those small moments in those memorable places are where God teaches me most about who He is. I think that’s because He is a relational God. He loves the things we love, He created places and blesses us with moments to create this thing called life. This life was created for us to enjoy, to embrace. So many times we forget that. We forget to embrace.
As our father, God loves to embrace life with us. Perhaps that is why these moments of breathing, feeling, and listening are so memorable. These are the moments we choose to sit and embrace what He created for us; moments we choose to sit and embrace creation with Him.
