Frustrations rising slowly, sweat dripping down our backs, sun beating down relentlessly, let’s just say things were getting a little heated both emotionally and physically.
Welcome to Morning Day Three of cleaning out a pool by hand.
For some reason, pools in Zimbabwe do not have drains. Why you may ask? I have no idea. But it’s not an ideal situation.
This pool we were cleaning out had it’s own ecosystem going on. Bucket by bucket we dumped out gallons of rainwater that had accumulated over the months. In our buckets we’d collect dead frogs, bugs of all sorts, and one time, we even had to kill some baby cobras.
Bucket after bucket we kept at it. At the very end it was like sludge/sewage. Try and imagine the smell. Phew! It was pretty gnarly, yet rewarding to scoop it all out.
Our last morning, we scrubbed down the entire pool by hand and weeded the surrounding areas. Tensions were high and it wasn’t leading into a promising day.
When we finished scrubbing the inside, some of the guys asked if we could all gather to pray. Not going to lie, I was slightly peeved, I just honestly wanted to get the job done as fast as possible.
The six of us gathered in the deep end of the pool, and entered into a time of prayer together. You could feel the atmosphere shifting as the Spirit came down, the wind started blowing, and people started praying out loud. It was quite something else lying on the clean floor of that once horrifyingly dirty pool.
After we finished praying and sharing what the Lord put on our hearts during listening prayer, we entered into a time of impromptu worship. We played song after song and praised God.
I felt a tug, and started dancing to our worship songs. Dancing is the way I connect to the Lord, and what better way than to dance in a clean, empty pool?? I noticed butterflies flitting by, felt the soft breeze surround me, and knew God was present.
In a matter of an hour my heart and attitude did a 180. It was incredible.
Sometimes I get so caught up in getting ministry work done, that I forget about just spending time with Dad and sitting in His presence.
In our own lives, we have areas that are filled with disgusting sewage water. We need to get down into the muck and bucket-by-bucket, with God’s help, we can get rid of it all.
We’re left with a clean, beautiful space. And in that space, we can praise our Lord.
Are you ready to do what it takes to transform your life from a dirty pool into a beautiful place for God and people to gather?
Thank you to everyone who has supported me both financially and prayerfully over the course of these past 7 months! If you feel led, I’m still about $4,000 away from reaching my final deadline! You can donate by clicking on the “Support Me!” tab on the left side of my blog. Thank you, thank you!
