I woke up the morning of my 25th birthday, December 27, at a hotel in Johannesburg. It was the beginning of a week leadership had given us to do what we wanted with. They called it Ask the Lord Week (ATL) – the time in between Christmas and New Years when no ministries were open.
After we all spent the morning in prayer we decided we should walk around looking for a place to have my birthday lunch and see where the Lord lead us. We walked a long way across the Nelson Mandela bridge and made it to a part of town we didn’t know we shouldn’t have been in.
We were really hungry and hadn’t seen anywhere to eat. A few men standing on the corner pointed out a pizza shop across the street. We were so happy, we all love pizza and we found Magnum ice cream bars that said “Happy Birthday 25” on the sticks.
After the meal Justin challenge me to walk across the street and give the rest of our food to the men that had recommend the restaurant and tell them why we were in Joberg. I accepted the challenge and walked across the street with a pizza box.
I got to the men and asked if they wanted to share our pizza. Suddenly another man came out of no where and everything went into slow motion.
He got right up close to me and gripped the necklace I was wearing in his hand. I looked down at the necklace and looked back up into his eyes confused. He ripped the necklace off my neck, let out a grunt like noise and ran away.
All of a sudden my mind caught up with reality and things returned to normal speed. The men I was trying to befriend ran after him and got back my necklace. (It was plastic from H&M and actually Lyndi Jo’s.) The men apologized and told us we shouldn’t be in that area of town and offered to walk us back to our hotel.
The men owned a barber shop and were from Tanzania. They were kind and when we got to the other side of the bridge we asked if we could pray for them. They said yes and then asked if we could all take a photo together.
After they walked away I processed all that had just happened. How strange I thought to have been assaulted in the street on my birthday. But, strangely, it didn’t feel like a misfortune, it felt like a blessing.
See this whole thing sounds so scary and it should have been, but there wasn’t a moment where I felt scared. I remained calm and my demeanor effected the whole group. We were able to leave without creating more of a scene or reacting out of our flesh.
The whole episode felt like a birthday present from the Lord.
It was like he wanted to tell me,“Look how brave I have made you, look how my peace really does transcend all understanding, look how I keep my promises and provide for those who trust and follow me where I lead them!”
I will never forget my 25 birthday in Johannesburg and not just because we went to the Joberg Theatre and saw an insane satirical musical of sleeping beauty. Not just because I had popcorn for breakfast and shared it with the room service attendant. Not just because my friend sent me a card six months earlier that sang me Taylor Swift and not just because I got a video message from my parents that they had vlogged Christmas for me to watch.
I will never forget my 25 birthday because I received a gift from the Lord that day. A reminder that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. A visual example of how He made me to be bold and courageous and that I never have to face anything alone.
