Every month on the Race is a new opportunity to learn how to get around. In India we used three wheeled rickshaws, in Nepal we crowded on tiny buses, in Romania we were driven in a van, in Moldova we walked. Here in Swaziland, our transportation of choice is hitch hiking (don’t worry, Mom, it’s totally safe).
The cool thing about hitch hiking is that you never know when your ride is going to show. You may be walking a few minutes or you may walk two and a half hours (it only happened the first day because we used the wrong hand gesture- here it’s not thumbs up, it’s wiggly fingers out). This is the perfect time to work on your tan, break in new shoes, or even learn a few things about perseverance and patience and the beauty of an answered prayer. And let me tell you, when that sun doesn’t let up and the cars keep zooming by, the prayers really start coming.
But those aren’t the only prayers we send up.
One night I sat up by myself at the table, reflecting on the day (it had been a hard one) and praying for encouragement. What I really wanted was someone to come out, sit down next to me, and speak words of life into me. I needed reassurance and love, even if the love was tough and included a slap in the face. Unfortunately, that night wasn’t the night I’d be receiving any of those things from people, and as I realized that, I gave those desires up to the Lord and asked for comfort and peace and guidance in the morning. Then I went to bed and forgot all about that prayer.
The next morning I woke up first and went out to have some quiet time with God. As I was finishing, Kacie came out and handed me the phone, tired and grumpy and telling me to pass on the message that 7am was too early to be calling. On the line was a former teammate who had been praying for me that morning and heard the Lord say, “You need to call her.”
So as the sun was rising, I stepped outside and received words of truth and life that I so desperately needed to hear. Some of the words were comforting, others were a slap in the face, all were so desperately needed and deeply appreciated. After I hung up, I went back and saw the prayer I had written the night before, pouring out my heart to God and asking for someone- anyone– to speak to me.
When God answers prayer, sometimes it’s soft and subtle, the minutest of details in the quietest of ways.
But sometimes the answers are big and loud, screaming out, “God loves you, Natalie!” in a brilliant melody that floods the soul and fills you with hope and endurance (or, as they say in India, a spiritual adrenaline rush).
Sometimes the hitch hikers get picked up after hours, but sometimes they get picked up right away. It’s important to remember on those long walks that a ride will come, and remembering the quickly answered prayers helps during the times when the Lord is strengthening our faith.
Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want, as quickly as we’d like, with the boldness we think we deserve. But sometimes He does, and it’s important to remember those sweet times during the long nights when it’s easy to feel alone or abandoned.
He loves us too much to leave us where we are, and it’s that light shining through the darkness that we have to cling onto for dear life.
