Don't Run

Everything is great so far! We have lots of time to rest, relax, and get to know the Skinners and others around Matoke Inn, AIM's central region HQ.

This afternoon a group of us went to a nearby pool for a couple hours. The water was cold and the sun was hidden behinds clouds, so most of us didn't swim. As Dara and Dade (The Skinners kids) fearlessly braved the water, Jill, Kelsea, Ruth and I sat around talking and enjoying the day. Ruth is the Skinner's worker, and I'm really looking forward to spending more time with her!

Eventually, the conversation turned to what to do in the case of wild animal attacks. Ruth gave us some interesting and funny advice! Like if a lion is going to attack, you should put a stick on your head to make you look taller, and if a dog is going to attack, you should bend down and pretend to pick something up....which makes the dog think you're going to throw something at it.

I think my favorite advice came from Dara, a very knowledgeable animal lover. She said that if a lion is going to attack, you have three options:

1. Run

2. Get closer to take a picture

3. Stand there and wait for it to eat you

Overall, we all agreed that running is never a good option when faced with the possibilty of an animal attack.  But how many of you would actually just stand there and stare a wild animal down or play dead hoping that they leave you alone? I'm pretty sure our natural instinct is to flee.

When faced with scary and life-endangering situations we want to run. It's not our natural instinct to willingly put ourselves in danger. To force ourselves into an uncomfortable situation. To give up our momentary comforts at the hope of something better.

This is the life that Jesus calls us to. When Jesus was calling his disciples, he tells them to "Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me," Mark 10:21. Jesus is calling them to abandon their comforts and all that is familiar and natural to them. He was telling them to abandon their careers and family and restructure their entire lives around the work Jesus called them to. "Their plans and dreams were now being swallowed up  in his," said David Platt in Radical. "Ultimately, Jesus was calling them to abandon themselves. They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation."

When the going gets tough, the world tells us to run and hide. Jesus tells us to "Follow me" and he will be our refuge and strength.

Lake Victoria

Although we don't live anywhere near the lions, I still don't quite know what I would do if I did happen to come face to face with one. Maybe I'd run. Maybe I'd freeze and start hyperventilating. I'm not sure.

I do know, though, that throughout the many hard times to come this year I will be turning to Jesus as my source of strength and hope for something better. Did you catch the second part of Mark 10:21? "Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When we give up our plans in order to follow God's plan for our lives, we gain treasure that cannot be stolen or destoyed. That's something worth smiling about! Because you know that in the end you're not really giving up anything at all. Instead, you're gaining everything.