I went on vacation.
I didn't even realize I needed a vacation,
but I suppose I did.
And I fell in love.
(Using the term very lightly, of coarse.)
I fell in love with white water rafting.
(And our rafting guide, Davey Baby.)
I fell deeply in love with 2 new dear friends and soul sisters, Bri and Kate.
I fell in love with Philly cheese steak
and expresso
and chocolate and peanut butter shakes.
I fell in love with grilled cheese
and apples
and peppermint mocha coffee creamer.
(at the hospitality of Kate and Lily.)
I fell in love with hot showers
and sleeping with a fan.
I fell in love with the Nile River
and rope swinging, boat cruising and searching for caves and waterfalls.
I fell in love with the sunset from the deck.
I fell in love with bean nachos, double cheeseburgers, Heinz ketchup, french fries and cold drinks.
I fell in love with each person we met, from Keiron who had visited his son in Capetown and we adopted as Papa K, to Kate, my lovely Aussie, the Denmark boys and Kristen from Florida, the bus load of Swedes, that guy from Mississippi with a heavier southern accent than even mine and Marky Mark from Scotland.
But you know what they say about vacation.
It's good to be gone, but it's always good to get back home again.
When you're away from certain things, you realize how much they truly mean to you.
Or in my case,
how much they truly don't.
Haha.
I laugh because as I went to the beautiful land of Jinja and lived a life of adventure that most people only dream of...I realized something.
I was already living the dream.
Living the adventure.
I'm already living the life God has called me to, and love it.
It may not include rope swings or showers, burgers or even salad for that matter.
It may just include my hutmate and I with our cats and trying to figure out what it means to seek God with all of our hearts.
And living with the Williams, these crazy/awesome people and their 7, soon to be 8 or 9, children that all love God so much it's just ridiculous.
And learning from Andrew and Kerri, our other teammates, who follow hard after God wherever He leads them.
I realized all those things I "fell in love" with in Jinja, they were all gifts from God, and I thoroughly enjoyed them, but they did not bring satisfaction or fulfillment to my soul.
Not the way Jesus does.
Nor the way living for Him does.
And the way sitting at His feet, soaking up his presence, gives me life, and life to the full.
And here, my friends, is the beautiful paradox. The scandal of grace.
The way to loving our lives, is to hate it.
The way to living life to the fullest, is by giving it away.
The way to find your life, is to lose it.
It's one of those God things that doesn't make any sense at all but actually makes perfect sense, ya know?
So today, I didn't white water raft or soak up sun rays on the Nile, but I did meet with my friends under a tree in Marru to sing and dance and pray. And now I'm headed down the hill to meet with Florence and Elise and read scriptures together. And I'm going to hug as many snotty nosed kiddos as I can.
My life is full.
And I love it. :)
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord...
-Philippians 3:8
