I have severe jaundice! Everything is ORANGE.
So it has seemed that, for the past few years, orange has been a reoccurring theme in my life. It is, by no means, my favorite color or one that I naturally gravitate toward. But, it seems to be everywhere. I see it more and more frequently and so I have started paying attention.
Two summers ago I began working at the high ropes course for Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe. We were given hideous burnt orange t-shirts as a uniform and asked to wear black pants. We looked like a sorry excuse for a Halloween decoration. The following summer there was an improvement. Our t-shirts went from burnt orange to bright orange. Once again, not a color I would choose for a uniform, but working at heights it is important to be able to see the guides easily and this orange was impossible to miss.
That summer, I practically lived in the tent my grandmother had given me in preparation for the world race. It was a birthday gift the previous year and, of course, it was orange. I lived in an orange t-shirt in my orange tent.
I moved away from Tahoe in preparation for the world race. Gave away all my hideous orange t-shirts, packed up my tent, and headed out for training camp. I had not kept up with the on-line posts about training camp and had the minimum information needed for showing up. Upon arrive I saw a giant clump of people wearing bright orange t-shirts….. guess what color my team was? That’s right. Orange. I had to wear another hideous orange t-shirt.
In between training camp and launch, I lived with my parents and was able to celebrate the holiday season with them. One of the most useful Christmas gifts I was given was a bunch of packing cubes. They were orange. Everything I have on the race is kept and organized in orange cubes.
It doesn’t stop there.
So, my squad launches on January 10th. My team’s first ministry destination is Chokwe, Mozambique. We are tasked with repainting and decorating the school before the kids come back from break. The school began as just a preschool, but God provided funds and teachers so the children can attend this school all the way through 4th grade. When talking with our ministry host about her vision for the design of the school and what paints we would need she said she wanted to paint the preschool building mostly orange. She says it is the color of welcome in their culture.
Now, going back to training camp. I was taking a walk with one of my squad mates and happened to mention that I had noticed a lot of orange in my life. She told me she had done a study on the meaning of colors in connection with the spirit and orange signified spiritual warfare.
Spiritual warfare and welcome.
For the past few years leading up to training camp I was not living in a godly way. I was a wild child. Rebelling. By the time I arrived at training camp I was in a full fledge spiritual war and had become very numb to it until she pointed this out to me. I was in a massive battle. Confused about who this God was that I once knew so well and didn’t any more. This God that once made sense and didn’t any more. I had allowed myself to fall deep into a spiritual battle and I became fully aware of this because of orange.
Despite the fact that, after training camp, I had no desire to do the world race I realized that I must say yes to this. I must at least try to say yes to God. I was so unsure of him, but remembered that once he had been my everything. So, I stepped out in faith and launched even with so many questions and confusion.
And he welcomed me back. It is only now that I write this that I realize he is welcoming me back. And he is doing it with orange paint on a preschool in Chokwe Mozambique.
And, being a God who loves to give us gifts and romance us, he added one more sweet little touch.
When packing to leave I could fit just about everything I felt like I needed in my pack, but it was very big and very heavy. I debated whether or not to bring my sleeping bag liner. I had only ever used it once and it had been a long time ago. I left it out of my pack, but after talking with my family I was convinced to bring it. So far it is the only piece of camping gear I have needed to use. I have a bed here, but no sheet. Most nights it is hot, but the other night I got chilly and pulled it out. It’s orange. I had forgotten that because I haven’t used it in so long. It was given to me by someone I only met once . I needed camping gear for the race and this person donated most of the gear I use today. Thank you, Nick Aughtry.
I know the prodigal son. And, for now, my God is orange. I am going to keep watching for this color and see what comes next.
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