Ridiculous Love

Well, I am at my last week in Africa...so sad! I can't believe how fast it has gone, but also just how much I have learned. I have realized many things about myself and about the sanctity of life. Life truly is precious, and when we waste our time with pointless worries or trying to rush around everywhere, we miss out on what makes it so beautiful. For instance, look at this picture. What a glorious representation of innocent joy. He is strong, happy and full of life just waiting to be lived.

And what about this little girl...silly, yet bursting with serene beauty. I have been pondering the fact that I absolutely love the African people, especially those of Kenya because they have become so dear to my heart. I have not found one Kenyan that was not beautiful to me. I find myself thanking God when I get caught up in the stunning, sweet smile of Kenyan woman carrying a child on her back. How strong and persevering these people are! I am inspired by their tenacity and fervor for life. Praise the Lord that we have each other on this earth to remind us of His all-surpassing and honestly completely ridiculous love! What are we that he is mindful of us? The fact that he took the time to form us from dust...and what about his persistent pursuit of us? Ahh! It blows my mind...



Yesterday, Leann and I went to Karura Forest again to see if we could explore and find a waterfall or two. A couple of times I stopped and thought to myself, "I cannot believe I am walking through a forest in Kenya at this very moment." I was overcome by the thick, sweet scent of fresh grass, flowers, and wood. When we finally made it to the waterfall, the sound was overwhelming yet peaceful, almost cleansing. I told Leann, "You know, right now we are walking around in a place that some people only experience on TV. They end up saying to themselves, 'Man I want to go there.' But most never get there." It was wonderful! Such beauty...different from mankind, and yet beauty all the same.

This morning in church I was reminded of just how ridiculously God loves us. How is it that he can make everything right after we have screwed it up? We try so hard and still fail. But somehow he uses that beyond our comprehension. Second Corinthians 12:9-10 says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Isn't that so backwards? You would think. But who said God had to fit in our little mold? All I can do is proclaim, "My God, how great Thou art!"