I feel like I wrote a lot last month about surrender – sorry if it felt repetitive! It was such a pervasive theme, one that I want to continue this month and through my entire Race, that I’m going to talk about it one more time (at least).
When we were doing hospital visits in Mansa, my teammate Whitney and I spoke to a man named James who was attending the bedside of his son Frank. I don’t know what his diagnosis was, but his father said his illness made it so he couldn’t hear or speak.
The first man we had met that morning had the same symptoms, but he was either unconscious or convulsing while we spoke to his family. Frank, though, lay still on his bed and watched us. We encouraged James with some Scripture and asked how we could pray for them. We all bowed our heads and Whitney led the prayer, with one of the pastors translating – and Frank clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.
I was stunned.
A man who by all accounts did not know what was going on around him knew we were praying for him and joined in.
And then this song popped into my head and became my prayer.
Frank’s eyes were open and saw more than we had imagined. And so my prayer was not only that his ears and mouth be opened physically, but that my eyes and ears and mouth and heart would be open to God.
My Race right now is in a time of transition: a new continent, a new ministry, a new team. Strange as it seems, for a girl who loves to travel, I am not a big fan of change. So as I embark into this great unknown, I’m trying to keep this song in mind. Because God is working in Frank’s life and my life and your lives in ways that I want to be open and paying attention to.
