I
took riding lessons the other day.
English riding lessons.
On
a horse.
If
you’ve forgotten, I’m in Africa.
A
horse.
Riding
lessons. English.
In
South Africa.
Still
trying to get your head around it? Yeah, me too.
So
I’ll try to explain this to you from all the way across the Atlantic, and you
might have to hang in there, cause trust me it will sound a bit…crazy.
It
all started a couple weeks ago when we got here to Capetown, South Africa and
our host, Tom, began introducing the idea of “being” and not so much “doing”
life. Ok, sounds easy right? Be, don’t do. Yeah, right. Sitting still is one of
the hardest things for me to do – especially now after spending months on the
go – from hospitals to classrooms to churches to orphanages – doing this or
that, being put to work here or there, doing anything and everything to help
out, but definitely doing something.
And don’t get me wrong it’s been amazing and beautiful and wow! But now here we
are with Tom…just being.
Ugh!
And it’s sooo hard! Sometimes I try to sit and listen and be – trying to hear
from God, trying to just plain listen – and of course I end up pacing wondering
what’s taking so long. And when the real impatience sets in random thoughts
start to take over and before you know it I’m wondering why they make parkways
to drive on and driveways to park on. Ugh!
So
why do I do it?
Well,
Tom put it this way, there’s this point in any relationship that you want to be
able to just be – like for example that silent walk on the beach where neither
one of you has to say a word, not one, you just get to be together and its not
awkward and there’s no impatience – you are just free to be with each other.
Sometimes
it can be so easy to do something to
earn the father’s love, instead of just being
with the father of love.
So,
being – it’s great, right?
So
one morning last week I was practicing just “being” and I was curious as to
what adventures God had in store for us that week, so I asked. The answer came
in a dream that night. In my dream I was in a horse stable and I was leading a
brown horse out of the barn and into the coral. I saddled up the horse and then
climbed on. There were others around too, helping me – showing me how to do
this and how to do that, and this one man in particular, he just kept smiling
at me. He was an older man, white hair and dark-tanned African skin. As he
leaned against the fence his eyes seemed to laugh at me and if he had said
anything at all I bet he would have said, “You’ll get the hang of it
eventually, just keep trying.”
When
I woke up the man’s face was still fresh in my mind, and the dream was so puzzling
to me. So I started praying about it, hoping to find some answers. The convo
went something like this:
What in the world was
that all about?
Riding
lessons.
You want me to get riding
lessons?
Yes.
Now?
Yes.
In South Africa?
Yes.
Right now?!
Yes.
Well how am I supposed to
pay for that?
I’ll
provide it.
Are you sure about this?
Yesss!
Okaaay, I’ll do it.
Soo,
I did it. I went and took lessons.
English riding lessons.
In
Africa.
And
the funniest thing occurred – he was there. In flesh and blood – Mr. white
hair, dark-tanned, laughing eyes and all. It was like seeing a ghost! It was
him alright, when I rounded the corner of the barn I almost ran right into him.
I was speechless, absolutely speechless; luckily my teammate had enough sense
in her to see from my facial expression and frozen stance that this was the man
from the dream. She began introducing herself and I tried to follow, stammering
and waving hello. Just hello! That’s it! After all that and all I could get out
was hello! Ha! Man, do I serve a funny God. So, I go back again Monday and
maybe this time I won’t lose all my nerve and I’ll be able to get out more than
just, hello.
Oh!
And P.S. A word to the wise,
Horses + Weed
Whackers = Very bad situations!
