It is dark, late, kids long in bed. I am preparing my kitchen, my schedule and my mind for tomorrow. I stack dishes in a basin to be washed by our worker, make notes for tomorrow’s plans, and wipe down counters. David has gone into Bundibugyo town today for money and brought me back fun fruits and veggies harder to find here, among them; Irish potatoes, green peppers, pineapple, and carrots. As the kitchen grows more orderly I light candles and a lantern and work to the sound of my current favorite music.
It’s amazing how much peace there is to be found in simple tasks, simple moments. I lift passion fruit and green peppers into the sink filled with soap and tea tree oil (for disinfecting). They rattle around in the water, growing clean enough to be cut open for eating, then I pile them on the clean white towel beside the sink. Abundance before me. Fresh fruits and veggies make me happy.
I sweep up a huge collection of dust that has blown in through our glassless windows today. We can sweep daily without the dust growing less. I kill a multitude of large black ants out for their evening feast. I reclaim our storage room from the chaos that has threatened to overwhelm it. I meditate on some decisions that we need to make. I marvel at the Holy Spirit.
Our kids devotion for last night asked “why did Jesus leave this earth?” Part of what the devotion went on to talk about was the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I loved the beautiful, simple explanation of the role of the Helper in our lives. I can’t imagine trying to tackle ministry here without the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence in my life and heart and mind.
Because of the the presence of this “third person of the Godhead” - try finding another god who was relational before anything or anyone else existed, amazing; - I can feel transcendent peace when faced with impossible decisions, impractical requests, and my own imperfect judgment.
Maybe some would disagree but I don’t feel I have to pin down God’s wisdom through accurate scriptural interpretation. If I do, what are the chances for the villagers here who have no Bibles, let alone an ability to read or interpret? God’s Spirit does not require education, know-how, or intellectual ability. He’s simply there, available, present in a personal way, understandable to those with simple hearts and simple minds. And sometimes it’s in the simple moments that I remember all I have to do is simply trust. The easy thing to do is commit to more study, more prayer, more determination to discipline. But God asks me instead to have the faith of a baby; trusting, vulnerable, genuinely needy because there is nothing else to be.