Reflection

Gardens Inside The Fort

The following is a copy of a reflection I wrote for a devotional booklet to be used on Shepherd of the Valley's upcoming trip to Tungamalenga, Tanzania. It is based on the 'birds of the air and lillies of the field' text from Matthew.
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Worry.
It is an interesting word.
In Kiswahili it is Wasiwasi.
As a condition or state of being, it occupies much of my time.
Bills . . . schedules . . . daily routines . . . my possessions . . .they all feed it.
Apparently, I like to worry.
A lot.

As counter-intuitive as it may sound, I'm coming to understand travel and the art of undertaking a journey -or safari, if you prefer- as an exercise in leaving worry behind. The whole endeavor seems to be a process of stripping worry away. Setting off for a distant land you leave behind the bulk of your belongings, possessions, and sources ofworry. Boarding the plane you check more non-essentials below. If push came to shove you'd also be fine leaving behind most of your carry onas well. It is all well and good, but you could get by without it.What remains, then, is the traveling trifecta of tickets, passport,and cash.

Landing in an unfamiliar place like Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, orDar, it quickly becomes apparent how much of your well ordered life is beyond your control. The illusion, easily maintained in your comfortable day to day world, that you are in charge of it all dissolves as you find yourself immersed in foreign words, customs, and scents. You learn, again, to trust . . . to have faith. Surrounded by the other, you begin to realize how utterly dependent you are on the stranger -the neighbor, and the goodness of God working through them.

As the myth of the control dissipates, worry fades away. . .

Peace to you all, from just up the African coast.

-p