Cape Town and Other Thoughts

This past week, my housemate Brittany and I went on a little getaway to Cape Town for her birthday. 

Sandwiched by mountain and sea, I was humbled by my own insignificance and basked in God's glorious majesty. My friends, our God is SO creative. That may seem like a silly statement...obviously He is creative. But HOKEY TOOTS. There is so much to explore in this world, so many things that literally take your breath away. The moments of breathtaking beauty I experienced while in Cape Town are far too many to count.

We saw penguins, seals, baboons, possibly a whale (it was really far away...but we are pretty sure we saw one!) waterfalls, beautiful flowers, exquisite shells, and endless blue sea and sky.

We did a lot of hiking and stayed busy for the five days we were there, but oh my friends, it was such a lovely trip. This world has so much to see, but our time to see it is so limited. I'm really glad that heaven is for eternity, because I bet there is going to be SO much to explore, and even more beautiful than the slices of heaven we get to see here on earth.

Luckily there were no emus to attack me (;

Perfection. So many moments of perfection.

As wonderful as it was to get away and see more of God's creation, it was also really nice to be back home this week. With only a month left, I want to savor each day. This weekend I have had the house to myself as the rest of the crew went away for a couple days. It's been so good to take time to be still, to sit in the sun and delight in God's peace. I've been spending a lot of time thinking and praying about what the next chapter looks like, and though I don't have complete confidence, I see where God is moving. Speaking of moving, hokey toots it's really windy today! Our windows are rattling, leaves are circling around on the ground, and big dust clouds are blowing through the neighborhood. That doesn't really apply to anything else except to give a taste of what the weather is like. Anywho...

I'm looking forward to being home, but frightened at the same time. A friend of mine who is studying abroad next year said it well. She told me, "It is just hard because I know what I am leaving, but I don't know what I am stepping into, except for knowing that God will be with me." In a reverse kind of way, that is how I feel about coming home. I've grown and changed as a person, and BG has become a kind of a home to me. So now I don't fully know what I am stepping into when I go back to Michigan, except that God is with me. 

But that is the key. His presence is not limited by physical time and space, so no matter where I am or how I feel about it, He remains constant through the inconsistency of my life. Praise His perfect name for that! As I prepare my heart to go back home, I am reminding myself that even if I "take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there His hand shall lead me, and His right hand shall hold me." My friends, where can we flee from His presence? There is no such place where He isn't there. And though that doesn't always sound so comforting, what a blessing it is to know that our Dad meets us at every possible turn, correcting us when we go down a dark alley, and opening our eyes to the lovely things He has placed on the path of Life.

Though I may only have a month left in Lesotho, I rejoice in knowing that I still have an eternity with my Beloved.