Before my last visit to Zimbabwe, as I was fundraising, sorting and packing clothes for 40 children, all while working 50 hours a week and searching for my sanity, I felt one of those nudges.
You know, those quiet nudges God gives that could easily be (and often are) ignored.
Although I got the nudge shortly before my flight, I decided to take a few moments and consider what God was asking of me.
In this case, it was the simple act of developing a few pictures of my friends in Zimbabwe to take with me as gifts. After way more thought than necessary, I decided to take the few minutes required to order some photos (randomly) online, then drove the long grueling 3 blocks to pick them up. (Funny how I was about to fly across the planet in obedience, yet I was nearly unwilling to drive the 3 blocks).
Long story kinda short, I developed about 20 photos, packed them away, and didn't think much about it.
(I must stop here and say that as I left for Zimbabwe, I did not know who would be there when I arrived. I did not know which children would have been passed around to live with other family members, as orphans often are. I knew a few of the children/family members had passed away, but I knew there were many more who Tecla was waiting to tell me about in person. Basically, I didn't know if the people in the pictures I developed would even be there to give them to.)
Sadly, when I arrived, I learned that there were many who had passed away, one of whom was
MaSeba. MaSeba and her son, Sebastian, were two of the hardest workers while in 2006-2007 we built 3 houses in their community (one being their own). They were also always cheerful, kind, and generous- even when it seemed as though they had nothing more to give. The kind of beautiful, wonderful people who give you hope for humanity in this crazy world.
One of the first mornings of my trip, Sebastian came to the lodge to visit (at a bright and early 6:30am, I might add). The first thing he told me was that his mother had died. I really had no words to give him as I looked into his eyes and saw his broken heart.
Then I remembered....
The pictures.
I handed him this photo, unsure how he would react:
He ran his finger slowly over the photo, and after a moment of silence, he looked up at me and said,
"It's my mom...."
He had tears in his eyes, but his smile was the biggest I have ever seen.
It was one of those rare moments when things makes sense, and I wondered if God would send a girl all the way to Africa just so one of his sweet children could see his mom's face again.
And I am pretty should He would.
It also makes me wonder,
What would happen if we responded to all of God's nudges?
