water

Well friends, it’s been a while… and I’m not going to go through a play-by-play of what’s happened the last 3 or so months since I’ve blogged, but suffice it to say that it has been a good semester. I’ve done a lot, seen a lot, experienced a lot and probably grown a lot more than I can yet realize… I’ve learned a lot about myself and about ‘having a real job’… as it’s the first time in my life I’ve not been a student since I was about 3 years old! Unfortunately, the semester only has about 3.5 weeks left, then a 3-week Christmas break before new students arrive in January.

Being in Uganda this time around has been eye-opening as I’ve been able to learn a lot more about the culture and deepen friendships with people that I had just started to know when I left last time. I’m so blessed for the opportunity to be here now and I’m already not looking forward to it ending!

So, I recently watched a documentary with some friends entitled Rivers and Tides, about a landscape sculptor. The work he does with nature is spectacular and breathtaking, and really just cool … anyway, he does temporary pieces and then part of the art is seeing the work he’s done be overcome and even destroyed by nature… seeing the way tides caused some of his pieces to be completely covered in water reminded me of a poem I had read last semester. The poem was written by an American missionary in Chile named Carol Bialock and quoted in Sharing the Darkness by Sheila Cassidy. It doesn’t have a title but here’s Carol’s poem followed by Sheila’s commentary:

I built my house by the sea.
Not on the sands, mind you,
not on the shifting sand.
And I built it of rock.
A strong house
by a strong sea.
And we got well acquainted, the sea and I.
Good neighbors.
Not that we spoke much.
We met in silences,
respectful, keeping our distance
but looking our thoughts across the fence of sand.
Always the fence of sand our barrier,
always the sand between.
And then one day
(and I still don’t know how it happened)
The sea came.
Without warning.
Without welcome even.
Not sudden and swift, but a shifting across the sand like wine.
Less like the flow of water than the flow of blood.
Slow, but flowing like an open wound.
And I thought of flight, and I thought of drowning, and I thought of death.
But while I thought the sea crept higher till it reached my door.
And I knew that there was neither flight nor death nor drowning.
That when the sea comes calling you stop being good neighbors,
well acquainted, friendly from a distance neighbors.
And you give your house for a coral castle
and you learn to breathe under water.

“Now the curious thing is that all the time I was in Chile I understood the sea in this poem as an image of the presence of God—the way he takes over our lives. When I showed it to a monk friend, however, he saw the slow advance of the sea as the gradual encroachment of the agony of the world upon one’s consciousness. It is only now, ten years on, that I begin to understand what he meant when he said that the great mystery is that the two are really the same.”

Well, that concludes my most recent thoughts on life, I’ll let you take from it what you may…

Until next time, be blessed!!

Ruth

Life in limbo

Well folks, most of THIS chapter of my life in Uganda is through (don’t worry, I’ll be back)….. heading to Rwanda tomorrow for about 10 days, then a few days back in Uganda to de-brief on 4 months (is that even possible?) and then home, sweet, home by May 3^rd. (then there’s graduation, and summer, and the rest of my life, but we’ll get to that later!)

I don’t think it’s possible for me to sum up the past 3.5 months in one blog post or even start to express the emotions I’ve gone through, the things I’ve see, the adventures I’ve gone on, or what things will be like when I get home. The past few weeks have been full of endings, some temporary and some permanent, and I’m really just at a loss for expressing to you how crazy it is to feel like so much is finishing in my life while so much is also beginning. I know some or all of you can relate to these feelings of endings and beginnings, those times where our lives feel like they’re in limbo. I am super excited about going to Rwanda and spending these last two weeks with some close and awesome friends AND about going home to catch up with my family, my roommates and bffs at Messiah and STOKED to GRADUATE from COLLEGE… but I’m sad about the endings in all of these same areas… with my friends here, with friends and faculty at Messiah…. So, I pray that you join me in cherishing the moments and living them out to their fullest.

Here’s a little prayer, because I’m not sure how else to express myself just now:

Dear Jesus, I lift my hands and eyes to you, in awe of what you’ve brought me through.  How can I express to you the joy I have regarding how faithful you have been to me throughout my life? I have learned to trust in your unfailing love, and to love you and your creation in the moment. I pray that lesson stays with me, reminding me of what you’ve brought me through and how I’ve seen your power in my life. Thank you for showing me my weaknesses, and for reminding me of your strength which overcomes and redeems them.  Thank you for showing me the hard things, for pushing me to my limits, for surrounding me with your love as manifested through people who love me and shine your light.  I thank you for those who have supported me directly and indirectly through their words, thought s and prayers, and I pray that you continually reveal yourself to me and teach me your power.

Thank you for all you are, Father, AMEN


… on that note, I’ll end with a few theme verses from the semester:

Romans 5:3-5 (NRSV)

“And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

II Corinthians 12:9-10 (NRSV)

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

Psalm 13 (NIV)

“How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and everyday have sorrow in my heart?  How long will my enemy triumph over me?  Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.   Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome her,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.  But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.”

I hope this post finds you well, finds you cherishing your moments, cherishing those around you and trusting in God’s unfailing love. That’s all for now, I’ll be out of internet communication until May 3^rd!!

O, and I can't leave you without a pic.... it's officially rainy season!

Be blessed,

Ruth