As I sit at the lunch table eating the leftover beans and potatoes from yesterday’s dinner, I am struck with a deep sadness that my time in Swaziland is rapidly coming to a close.
This month has been so incredible in more ways than I can count and I think the most valuable lesson that I have learned is this:
I took time for granted.
It’s easy to trudge through the daily routines and not grasp the beauty of the “here and now.” Beauty being a myriad of things such as deep belly laughs from people I love, uncomfortable moments that make my character grow, or the painfully mundane moments that cause me to throw my head back in frustration because all I want in life is adventure.
I have to admit, I didn’t imagine The World Race looking like me sitting at a table entering numbers to the names of children I’ll never get to meet. I didn’t imagine ministry looking like four different projects in four weeks. I didn’t imagine the most exciting thing to happen in a day is getting more than one song to download. I didn’t imagine adding up all the moments of Swaziland to equal realizing that somewhere along the line, I got attached to this place. I didn’t imagine being able to find a little bit of home here.
Swaziland has transformed my desire from a “what’s next” mentality to being present in all things: present physically, present mentally, and present emotionally.
Reliable wifi is hard to come by, and frankly, I’m thankful for it. That was one less distraction for me as God brought me to a place where it was only me and Him (in my tent, of course, because alone time does not exist on The World Race LOL).
Night terrors were exceptionally hard this month, but I’m thankful for teammates who not only listen but also pray over and with me.
My emotions were a little extra in my opinion, but my team challenged me to really dig deep with The Lord as to WHY I’m feeling certain things. They not only challenged me, but most of the time they took the time to feel things with me. God taught me, once again, emotions are not bad. God is an emotional God. That’s why we have emotions.
I’m three days from heading to Madagascar, and as I sit teary eyed staring into my bowl of beans, I wonder how many more places I’ll be able to call home by the end of this year.
“Time is precious. Waste it wisely.” -Unknown
