Kenya.
One week of 39 parents and 26 racers. One week with about 120 racers. Back to Africa. Bumpy roads. Strange night sounds. African babies. Krest soda. Dust. Mud. Mudfights. Worship. Insecurity. Breakthrough. Honesty. Exhaustion. Pride. Humility. Prayer. Listening. Doing. Reconciliation. Blessing. Activation. Caution. One on ones. Sunburn. Cold showers. Chapati.
These last 2 weeks in Kenya were packed full of hearts, stories, events, moments, and themes. I’ve tried to tell stories to those who have asked but I always feel like I’m telling only one side of a multi-faceted couple of weeks. There is a word though that I felt towards the beginning of the trip that carried through in different ways until the end and it has to do with burning bushes.
Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Our 2 weeks in Kenya were strewn with burning bushes- opportunities and invitations to experience God. I didn’t know what the Lord would do on this trip, if He would really accomplish what He said He would, but He blew any expectations I had out of the water. We ended every day tired and spent but our spirits were so alive. Every day we had invitations to recognize the work and voice of the Lord in someone and act on what He was saying about them. Every day we had opportunities to touch hearts, encourage people, pray for them, cry with them, hug them, push them, or dance with them. Every day we got to see prayers answered and words confirmed. Every day we had the choice to recognize the Lord in it and be used to our full potential, or not.
In Kenya, Kevin, Brittany & I did nothing special. God worked and lives were changed and attitudes transformed but all we did was simply recognize the burning bushes around us, accept the invitation to experience the Holy, and take off our shoes. And that invitation stands for each one of us every single day, even when we’re not in a foreign country. Even when we’re at home all day. Even when we’re in Wal-Mart. There are burning bush experiences God invites us into every day; however, it is up to us to recognize it. It’s up to us to stop what we’re doing, turn away from distractions, and focus on it. As we turn and look, we give room for Him to speak and all of a sudden we become aware of the supernatural surrounding us and the fact that we’re standing on holy ground. Notice that the ground, or where we were standing, didn’t change. The sand didn’t all of a sudden transform into a marble floor. It was simply our awareness of the reality we live in- the supernatural and God’s invitation into it- that changed.
I invite you to do the same. Start looking for burning bushes. And when you see one, don’t shrug and rub your eyes and walk away. Don’t freak out and sprint the opposite direction either. Stop in that space, take off your shoes, and listen.
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
