Be Still

Hi Hi!

These past three weeks have revealed that I  moved from the “windy city”, to the “windy village”.  Pretty frequently Masealama has windstorms. These incredible storms, which seem to be isolated to ONLY Masealama. (ask anyone around here they will tell you that we have our own weather up here)  These heavy winds sound like waves crashing on a shore, and can cause so much havoc along the way.  I would say that about 50% of the storms knock the power out. Lets just say...the headlamp and candles are always ready to be put into use.

When I was little I use to LOVE when the power went out. We would light candles, read books or play board games. It was my favorite. Unfortunately, when the power goes out here I don’t have anyone to play Yatzee  with :) - so I listen to music while reading, or watch movies on my computer. The last time the power went, I had just gotten back from a long hike and all that I wanted to do was lay on the couch and listen to music.  But when I opened my computer my battery was very low and I didn’t want to waste the battery just in case the power was out all night.   Not going to lie, silence when I am all alone - can be scary.  In my everyday, I usually have background noise so spending an unknown amount of time in silence seemed unnerving.  So I sulked a little bit and then realized I was just going to have to deal with it.

I tried to keep myself occupied. I finished the last chapter in a book that I was reading, flipped through my bible a bit but but most of the time I just laid there, in deep thought. I thought about the beautiful hike I had just gone on and all of the interesting wildlife I saw, some of the terrain reminding me of Wisconsin and I thanked God for these things....  A few hours later the power was restored and I went right back to my noisy life.

As I hopped into bed the next night I took a quick glance as the pictures and cards that I have on my wall. The one that caught my eye was a small card made by my friend Lo that says :

Be still and know that I am God. Pslam 46:10

Reading this, I became aware of the little God moment that had just occurred.  Being powerless allowed me to be still and thank God for the experience that I just had and reflect on all He has blessed me with.  Without this series of events, I would have been too distracted in the noise of my life to be grateful.

Then I went to my bible to reread the passage.  The Message says;

“Step out of the traffic! Take a loving look at me, your High God.”

This version spoke to me. It gives me more clarity as to why God may have called me to South Africa, and more specifically Masealama. I believe that God needed to take me out of the traffic of not only Chicago, but MY LIFE. This time of silence and being still has allowed me to take time to look at Him and all the blessings He has provided me. For the first time in a long time - I thanked Him!   Now I’m excited to see what I else I am bound to discover during my year of “stepping out of the traffic”.

Beep Beep...

Toodles my friends! :)

Kelly