Holy Ground.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” ---Martin Luther King Jr.

 

As I am writing this, our youngest four are enjoying a nice, big lunch consisting of a bowl full of matoke and g-nut sauce. I downed my plate and am now enjoying their softly spoken lugandan conversations while they eat. I am simply attempting to soak in every moment that remains today. It’s quiet around here. Some have gone into town for the day. Mato and Alex are back and forth between here and market. The rest of the children are at school. I am thankful for the stillness, the quietness that fills the air today, that has allowed me to take time to process and reflect on this last month. A month that has been full of plenty of laughter, an uncontainable amount of joy, new journeys to embark on, moments where all I could do was cling to faith in my sweet Jesus and stillness. All I could dream about and more than I could begin to ask for. Yesterday was spent at one of the secondary schools some of our older children attend. We did our fair share of sweating as we ran around playing basketball while the boys played soccer. It does ones soul good to be able to sit atop the hill and look down at our boys interacting with new friends, all the while doing what they love to do. I began to think about their individual lives before Sozo. I have yet to learn all of their stories, but what I do know is that I simply could not imagine what life would look like if one of them was not on this beautiful journey with us. Each child is unique. They have their own individual and distinct story to tell. The Lord has a mighty plan in store for each one of them too. Each story consists of pain, sorrow and neglect in some way but together it makes up a beautiful picture that spills over with love, grace, mercy, truth and redemption. For we all once were orphans but now we are all the more blessed to sit at the table of our King.

 

The Lord has lavished His love upon me unconditionally over the course of this past month. He has loved me well as He always does. He has provided moments when I simply had to posture myself humbly on my knees before His throne of grace and beg for His mercy to fall over His children. I have learned to pray with urgency and faith completely believing that the things of this world shall soon pass. I have seen the importance of scripture. Realizing that these very words are truly God-breathed. I cling to His promises and speak these same promises over the lives of ones we so dearly love. He has granted us power and authority to stand in the gap and battle for ones we love in the heavenly realms.

 

 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.” Psalms 23:4

The Word of God has come alive to me while in Uganda. I can truly say that I will not be returning the same person that I left as. My faith has been stretched, areas in my life have been refined and there are still things going on here that my spirit is not settled on just yet. But I leave today. I don’t have all of the answers to all problems. I simply cannot fix the things that I want to fix here before I leave. The Lord is in control.

 

--Marginalized people continuously show up in the stories of Jesus—prostitutes, tax collectors, soldiers, criminals, poor people, sick people, old people, and children. It would be easy to see the mission of Jesus as fixer of what’s broken. That’s understandably what most people feel inclined to do when they encounter chaos in the lives of others—to fix them. But what determines brokenness? Jesus saw people so differently than the world sees them, accepting and loving them where they were and tolerating their weaknesses even as He loved them into more than they could imagine or ask.—Cindy Trimm  Your Journey to Authentic Living

 He is alive and still has our best interest at heart. It’s okay for things to not go as we think they should. I have now reached the moment where I simply release my burdens to the Lord and let His will be done in each situation.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I pack up my bags today and prepare to journey back to the other side of the world. To say “see you soon” to so many that I love and pray that in some way I have left some sort of impact on lives here even if it is just a portion of the impact that has been made on me. My heart has expanded as I have met so many new, precious lives this go around and I know that they will remain on my heart each day until I return again. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve here in Uganda and for all that made it possible for me to spend the last month here. I know the Lord will continue to be at work both in my life as I return home and here in the lives of the Sozo family in Uganda. I have been reminded of His hand that has Sozo in a firm grip. He has promised to walk beside us each step of the way and even reminds us over and over that the battle has already been won. We walk in victory each day. What a simple, but sweet reminder.

 

I am ever so confident that we are truly standing on Holy Ground here in Uganda. His presence is surely here. He has legions of angels surrounding each and every one of us.

 

“..take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Exodus 3:5