Last January I had the privilege of traveling to Swaziland, Africa on a vision trip with AIM. For as long as I can remember I have had the desire to travel to Africa, so this was like a dream come true! A piece of my heart was left there, in Swaziland, in the care of the beautiful people I met and ministered to there. Actually, they ministered to me in ways I could not have anticipated or believed.
Upon our first visit to the Nsoko carepoint, I stepped off of the bus and before I even had both feet on the ground a little girl had literally climbed her way up my legs and into my arms! She was probably around three or four years old and was covered in sweat and dirt. As soon as she was settled in my arms she took my face in both of her hands and positioned it so that we were locked in an eye to eye gaze! I was breathless…
In that second, the Father of the universe reached down, grabbed a hold of my heart and whispered into my soul “There you are!” I realized, to the core of my being, that I had travelled across an ocean to a different continent for the express purpose of holding this little girl in my arms. She knew it and I knew it! She didn’t wait for me to bend over and pick her up or even notice her standing there in the red dirt lost in the slanting shadows of the African sun. She made the first move and grabbed hold of me.
That was only one of many lessons and truths I learned during my brief time in Swaziland. It really is a two fold lesson, I suppose:
1. Jesus doesn’t wait for us to pay attention or to notice Him…He offers His love freely. He loved me before I took notice and certainly before I deserved it. That is mercy…that is grace! Just like my little friend in Swaziland, He always welcomes me with arms outstretched and love in His eyes.
2. I am not supposed to hesitate, before I crawl up into the arms of my Father. For so much of my life I held back and stayed in the shadows. Sometimes, wanting God to notice me; often times hoping He wouldn’t see what the shadows were helping me to hide! My Lord wants me close to him, in His arms…even covered in my own filth and shame! Because thanks to the unspeakable gift of Jesus, even my worst is covered by His best…His blood! That is all the Father sees when He draws me near. The rest falls away…all that remains is love and Him repeating softly and tenderly into my ear: “There you are…there you are…there you are…”
