Yep, it happened to me. We landed in Africa on a Tuesday morning and my bag was no where to be found.
Emotions mixed with about 10 hours of sleep in the last 65 hours led me to believe that my bag was gone for good and that the Lord was trying to tell that I have too much stuff and am still too dependent on the world for my joy.
Luckily this is a fear of mine thanks to training camp so I usually pack pretty accordingly with the off chance that the stuff in my carry on will be what I’m left with for the reminder of the race. I had deodorant, toothpaste and a toothbrush, a hairbrush, my towel, my pillow, 3.5 outfits, and my bible.
Also luckily my teammates are so very kind and generous with their things. They’ve lent me lotion, soap, outfit changes, bags to hold my odds and ends, bug spray, and a whole lot of prayer.
We went about ministry for the next few days and all was well. I wasn’t lacking anything and every need I had was met. In the back of my head I knew another flight was supposed to be landing and my head and my heart were in a constant battle pleading with the Lord to please find my bad and being okay with never having it again.
Then it happened. We get a call from our squad-mates in Abidjan that my bag had been found and it is safe and sound with them!
Now onto the next obstacle. My team and I are in Bocanda, 5 hours away from Abidjan. The roads here are not in the best condition so a five hour trek there and back would not be easy.
A few more days carry on as we try to figure out a way to get me my bag, but then, according to schedule it is time for us to leave our village. So we pack up and leave for the next week traveling to many, many different villages not providing any down time to even think about getting my bag. I continue to use the things that I have and my teammates continue to provide what ever I need.
We returned to our village late last night and apparently we are already half way through our time in Côte D’Ivoire. It has become obvious that since I have made it this long without my bag, then I can surely make it the rest of the month.
The knowledge that I will be reunited with my bag in less than 2 weeks has helped ease the anxiety I had in my heart, so going without it for a few more days doesn’t seem all that hard anymore. I know that I have just enough for right now and there is no reason for me to feel like I need anything more.
Then it hit me. I’ve been reading Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors and she tells the story from Exodus 16 where God provides the Israelites with just enough bread every single day for 40 years. Each person found that they had exactly the amount that was needed. They didn’t have too much or too little, they had just enough.
My heart has begun to grow in areas I didn’t really even know needed any growth. The Lord is teaching me that He is faithful in everything. Even things you may think are too silly for Him to care, He cares. And if the Lord did decide that my bag was going to be gone forever then I needed to be able to trust Him that He would provide the things I needed each and every day. And it would be just enough.
By the end of Côte D’Ivoire I will run out of some of my things, but guess what? At the end of Côte D’Ivoire I’m getting my bag back and then again I will will have just enough.
It’s crazy how God knew I would be reading that book this past week so He took my bag from me two weeks ago to ateach me this lesson.
I’m daily reminded that the Lord desires me just as much and even more than I desire Him. He is constantly fighting for me and pruning my heart to be more like Him. He cares for me in ways that no one on Earth will ever be able to care for me. And I’m having a really hard time grasping the magnitude of that, but I’m daily in persist of it. Because why wouldn’t I try to at least understand someone who literally died on a cross for me.
Love,
Banana
