Pause

I’ve been reminiscing through pictures from my trips to Kenya and I am reminded just how much I love both the land and the people of this beautiful country. Apart from the people, the thing I miss the most about Kenya, is the simplicity of life. In America, we get so busy running the rat race called life. How often do we take time to just sit under an oak tree and do absolutely nothing! I’m not suggesting we should be lazy (the Kenyans are incredibly hard-working, particularly the women I met), but I am suggesting that we take time to enjoy life. So often I am guilty of focusing on my “to do” lists and striving for the future that I miss the present moments.

Some of the photos remind me of fantastic memories. I laugh as a giraffe licks a snack from my hands. I giggle with the children as we try to communicate even though neither of us understands the other. My focus was not so much on doing great things in Kenya, but on being with the people and allowing Christ to “be” in me. Why is it so hard to be versus do when I am home?

This weekend our youth are at Disciple Now and the theme of the weekend is Pause. So, today I am taking time to pause. If it weren’t so rainy outside, I’d go and chill under the trees in my hammock, but instead I will be content to sit by the window and listen to the rain fall, to listen to the sound of laughter coming from Jorjanne’s room as she plays with a friend. I will be content in the moment for the grace of God is far more than I ever deserved.

I am going to share a few of my favorite pictorial memories from Kenya with you, and I invite you to pause and reflect on God’s goodness in your own life.