I just sat and watched her. I watched as she cheated at slap jack, peeking at her cards to see when she would flip over a jack next. I watched as the smallest noise around her would make her turn her head to see to what the noise belonged. I watched as she laughed at something that wasn’t particularly funny to the rest of the group, but to her it was laugh-worthy. I sat and watched as God gave me his eyes for his beloved daughter Nokuphila.
For the second month of the race, we are in Swaziland, and by “we” I mean the entire squad for squad month. I honestly don’t even know what city we are in. We are being hosted by a children’s home called El Shaddai, which is resting literally on top of a mountain, and to get off requires an hour long taxi ride to the nearest town. Each racer was given a buddy to mentor while we stay here, to which mine is a seven year old year girl named Nokuphila. Truth be told, I was a little nervous to have a seven year old to mentor for the month, only because I have been with teenagers for the last four years, and I was a little lost on ideas on how to interact with her. But God is so good, and his creation screams that at us this month, literally in the view from the mountain to the kids yells.
Nokuphila reminds me so much of myself in so many different ways; she absolutely has my facial expressions, something I have only recently discovered. At first she comes off serious, smiling during our early interactions were rare sitings. She can twitch her eyebrows and flare her nostrils like me, and I am convinced that she will also be able to wiggle her ears by the time the month is over. She is kind and compassionate towards her brothers and sisters here. She is quick to listen to the counsel of Nokulo ( one of the others girls here who is 16 but has taken on the responsibility of “house mother” in so many ways). She is determined, you will often see her without shoes on due to her misplacing them and forgetting where she put them( something that my team has been so patient with me in), but that won’t stop her from climbing up through the brush and over boulders on our hikes.
I was given a little girl who reminds me of myself before Christ captivated my heart. She is fragile, she tries to convince you that she is tough, and she is only because this world has made her as such, but behind her walls, there is a little girl who is guarding herself in order to not get further hurt. She is crazy observant of my actions and of those around her to see just how much we are going pursue her. She has had a hard upbringing, as a result placed her here at El Shaddai. Life has happened, people haven’t looked after her the way that they should’ve and people have left. The world has stained her.
I just sat and watched her yesterday completely captivated by her laugh, by her smile. I sat and saw her through God’s eyes. I saw a little girl who is crazy loved by the Father, that even though this world has put it’s mark on His daughter, she is held so tight by strong arms and hands. I watched as he told her that it’s safe to put down her walls and be the child that he created her to be, which is 100% silly truth be told. I just sat there smiling at her while God whispered to me, ” I did good with her huh?” “Yes Lord, she is your finest work.”
