Under the Willow Tree

Wake up at 7:17. Check.

Sit on the swing in my yard, with the Lord and Maxwell House. Check. Check. Everything is going as planned.

"Why is there so much bad coffee in this world" I ask myself, when a bird swoops into my life and poops on my arm. That'll teach me. 

Go to drawing class. Check. Cover my whole face in charcoal residue. Get laughed at by prof and peers alike. 

Go with some 8-year olds on a bike trip to the park for a picnic under a willow tree. Write in our journals, read some books, take some naps. Think about branches and feathers and being hidden in the shadow of the Lord Almighty (Psalm 91:4). 

Make some chicken curry salad for dinner.

This has been my day. Its so typical. How about yours?

The Land Before Time

The following an an excerpt from my journal:


       This will be one of my fondest memories in Africa, the days spent here on the Ouhave Farm, a cattle ranch. Every evening we come home from a place of immense suffering, to a sanctuary of peace and tranquility. The vast contrast sets my thoughts above; I cant help but think about heaven. I think this farm is as close as I will get to it until eternity.


       We come home from a place where the sun scorches the earth, to a place where the same sun casts glorious shadows and fills the sky with every brilliant color imaginable. This place is filled with garden after garden, where I walk and think "where do I want to spend time with my Lord today"? I sit and watch the kodos (long horned antelope) run by in their packs and wild ostriches chase each other through the trees, frolick back, and start all over again. Peacocks sit at my feet, and I am covered in their feathers.


          When we gather at the table with Biana and Hans, they have prepared for us a feast. Homemade bread and fig jam, fresh cheeses and newly hunted game. My only troubles here are this: do I really want another cup of coffee? Its the home of this delightful family, who allow us to share in their wonderful stories and intellect and laughter. Even as I write this, I watch Hans clean his gun with his 8 year old son, and repair their canoe for their afternoon out. He is teaching him everything he needs to know about being a man. They are so kind. They know and care for even the smallest of insects.


                                               This is life as its supposed to be.


          When our Lord returns, He's going to bring us, His family, back to the Garden, and we'll live life as intended. Where the lion will live with the lamb and there will be no suffering or tears. There we will walk with our Lord through the shade, we will behold His beauty and feast of His goodness, well sing His praises and understand His sovereign hand.


"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest"                (Isaiah 32).