This past week, my team was asked to attend a graduation ceremony for a local Ugandan school. The ceremony would celebrate the year of accomplishments of a group of kindergartners. We would walk in a small parade through town, wave at locals, and join the celebration. All of this sounded lovely, so we got ready and headed towards the school.
When we got there, we saw the most adorable bunch of kids decked out from head to toe in graduation regalia. It was beyond precious. We all gathered in a line and began the march. A fantastic marching band lead the way through town, and the small parade became a huge ordeal. The people of the village lined the streets and cheered for the children as they passed. We smiled and waved, sang and marched, and admired the beautiful countryside of Uganda.
After we had walked quite a ways, a little girl from the village came up and took my hand. We had been told that holding hands in Ugandan culture is very symbolic of love and friendship. I had never seen this little girl before, but she grabbed my hand as if we had been friends for a long time. She held on tight as we walked along. Soon after, another girl we knew came up and grabbed my other hand. Smiling and waving, we continued in the parade talking about school, and sunshine, and our families. I could’ve walked like that forever, but soon after, the sun was covered by the clouds and a huge rainstorm ensued, right in the middle of our parade.
Because we were too far from the school, everyone took cover under the awnings of local shops. In the process, my new buddy changed directions. I assumed she was headed home, because it was pouring rain and the roads quickly became mud. We waited for several minutes, until we all realized the rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. So what do you do? You step out into the rain, keep marching, and try not to slip on the muddy roads.
After we joined back up with the large group, I found my girl smiling and waving at me. She ran back, grabbed my hand, and finished the walk with me. With a girl in flip flops holding my left hand and a girl with no shoes holding my right hand, we finished our parade. It’s hard to describe how beautiful that day was. No one complained, we helped each other over slippery spots, we marched in the rain, and we forgot everything that we could’ve worried about.
While walking, holding hands with these two sweet girls, I asked God, “What am I supposed to learn from this? I know you are here, but what should I take away? How do I share this with people so they will know how beautiful it was?” I felt Him saying, sometimes in life, it’s sunny and fun. But sometimes, it’s messy. It rains when it shouldn’t. It gets muddy. You can choose to have the same joy either way.
I did just that. I chose joy. I chose my new friends and their sweet hearts. I chose to smile and laugh. I chose to enjoy every minute. And it was wet and messy. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get all the mud off. But it was worth every second. I haven’t seen my friend since the parade, but I was glad she was there to share in this day. She didn’t have shoes, but she chose joy too. This place is so different than home and it’s different than where I’ve been the past three months, but it’s those perfect little moments that make your heart happy. It’s those moments when you chose joy and thankfulness that you realize just how close God is.
Today it’s sunny, but maybe it’ll rain again soon. I feel like I want to march again.
