Two little Khmer girls were playing see-saw on a farming till while we were eating breakfast outside under the covering (Nin is 8 and her sister, Ya, is 5). We found a crab, I taught them jumping jacks, and Ya did forward trust falls with me without hesitation; as we settled down for a just a moment, I held her and sang “Jesus Loves Me” over and over. And as we were walking to the concrete slab to play more, past the wet, sandy, cow-poop-laden path,
Nin looked up at me and simply said, ‘Jesus’ with a smile.
His name is so sweet, permeating every circumstance.
We continued on to the concrete landing where 2 little boys were playing “kick the flip flop through 2 stacks of mini playing cards set up as a goal”. I wished I had some chalk for hopscotch but as I was thinking that, Nin grabbed some leaves overhanging, crushed them up, and drew a hopscotch board. I smiled to myself at the ease of her resourcefulness. We then used a little seashell laying around for the hopscotch marker.
That was a scribbling in my notebook on 6/7/15 while in the village Kapong Speu of Cambodia (Month 10). I later wrote in the margins:
“I feel like one day I’m going to go back and read this and it will feel so distant.”
Then I wrote in drawn out manuscript:
“Remember the simplicity.”
I was right, I read this scrawling and Cambodia felt very distant but as I leafed through the pages of my Race journal, a few big bear tears welled up, evidence that what I experienced is still very present in my heart.
Being home now, I have seen the work God has done in me through many of the simple things…
Noticing the different shades of green in the trees or the bright colors of the filled flower box in front of a post office, waiting to feel my body clench up with frustration or impatience in familiar irritating circumstances and instead feel peace, appreciating the different tones of laughter in my friends or the way we interact and cuddle up on each other like sisters, the gratitude I feel in filling up my water bottle for free no matter where I am :), and the general sense that what I bring to the table, what I look like, and who I am is enough no matter who I am with, things like that.
Now, let’s keep bein’ real, transitioning back isn’t simple. I have moments of complete contentment and overwhelming gratefulness but they are alongside moments of “what the HECK, I thought I was over this issue/feeling/insecurity or what the HECK, I thought I had figured out the next step?!”
But what brings the eyes of my heart back facing front and center, not looking to the gifts nor the calamities?
The answer is, doing just what Nin did so plainly and with a smile on that path in Cambodia…
Simply saying His name, “Jesus”.
Saying His name doesn’t magically make a life plan appear before me or solve all the world’s problems but it sure aligns me with My Maker.
And despite where my feet are planted physically, that alignment is where I want to stand.
Let’s take a small, simple step…find a quiet moment and whisper the name “Jesus”. Look through a lens of simplicity, noticing the creation around us.
Now, it doesn’t take much, or long, for the world to try to wriggle its way to center stage but in writing this,
I’d like it to serve as a reminder to the World, in all its complications and uncertainty, of its place, at the feet of My King.
I’m pretty positive I’ve just started the “processing” of this past year so thanks for hanging with me through rambles, bad sentence structure, and swings of emotions. 😉 I hope to share more about what God did in me through The Race and what God did through us in those nations.
Hugs to you from where this all began,
Lisa
Nin and Me in front of where our team stayed. She made that nature fairy crown on my head.
Me and Ya, the craziest, most adventurous 5 year old there ever, ever was. I’m wearing a shirt that was given to me by a friend I made a few days prior to leaving. I’ve got a story to tell with that one… 🙂
This is where we sat and ate all of our meals. It’s also where we taught our English classes, held bible studies and worship, met one-on-one with students from the village, measured out and bagged pig feed, weighed ourselves on the scale haha, and where some family/friend members slept on occasion.
Sunset view from where we held classes
