Sometimes, the best things in life are the simple things. God smacked me in the face with that truth today. My team and I left right after ministry today to go on an adventure called Unsung Heroes. Basically, for the rest of the month, we will be on our own with one squad leader, trying to find Christian organizations in Madagascar that Adventures in Missions doesn’t know about yet. Our goal is to find them and put them into contact with AIM, so that future racers can come and work alongside them. Anyway, knowing that today was our last day of ministry and possibly our last day seeing our new friends, I wanted to be really intentional about today.
Today was different then our normal schedule. We didn’t go to the same university we have been going to, but instead a private Catholic University. It was absolutely beautiful, but my soul was tired, and I felt myself getting easily annoyed. Frustrated with my flesh, I prayed to God that I just needed a few minutes of silence with Him, and He delivered more than I ever expected. The University has a chapel on campus, and we got to go inside. There wasn’t anyone in there but us, and that alone showed me God heard me. Our guide told us the chapel is the heart of the campus, and you can always find students in there praying. I smiled to myself, knowing God heard me. But once I sat down, closed my eyes, and pictured my safe space with the Lord, it felt like I was in another world. The silence in that chapel was unlike anything I have experienced before.
I could hear the students outside in the hallways, but they seemed to be miles away. My team was in the chapel as well, but no one was talking. This is strange for me. I talk. A lot. My parents used to say I would talk to a wall, and that I have never met a stranger. I just love to talk. I always feel like I need to fill the silence. It makes me uncomfortable. But now, I am learning to embrace the silence. I crave that alone time and intimacy with the Lord. We weren’t in the chapel for long, but it was exactly what I needed. That is the first small thing the Lord provided for me today.
I hate goodbyes. Hate them. I suck at emotions and never express them correctly. The World Race is full of goodbyes. At the end of every month, you have to say goodbye to the friends you have made, the hosts that loved you so well, and the kids that stole your heart. It sucks. So today, knowing we were at a different location, I wasn’t sure if we were going to see the amazing friends that we have made over the last week and a half. But God knows my heart, and knows I needed one more day with them. At the Catholic University, Mamy and Mark showed up, and my heart was overjoyed. Then at the next university we went to, Jo was there. To have one more day with these amazing friends is exactly what my heart needed, and God provided this small thing for me.
Once ministry was over, my team and I (with the help of Mamy) headed to the hostel we will be staying at for at least part of Unsung Heroes. My soul was longing for more alone time with the Lord, so I made some coffee, and sat down in the adorable little living room next to my bedroom. Sunlight poured in from the windows, and I could hear the beautiful noises of Madagascar. I sat on the small leather couch, closed my eyes, and drank my coffee. Yall. This coffee was everything I didn’t know I needed. Maybe I thought it was so good because it has been a hot minute since I have had some really good coffee, but I thought I had died and gone to heaven. So there I am, sitting in what is now my happy place with closed eyes, and having a cup of coffee with Jesus. That is the last small (but actually really big) way the Lord provided for me today.
All day, He was giving me little signs of how much He loves me. I started to wonder what made today different from any other day, and then I realized He does this for me everyday. He is constantly showing me how much He loves me, I was just more aware of it today. Friends, I want to encourage you to look for the little ways He provides for you today. Once I started seeing it, I spent the whole day looking for Him, and not once was I dissapointed. He wants to do this for you too. Look for Him, because I promise He’s there.
