Winston Churchill was so impressed with Uganda when he visited that he gave it a name which has endured: the "Pearl of Africa". His observations about Uganda remain true today. "The scenery is different, the vegetation is different, the climate is different, and, most of all, the people are different from anything elsewhere... in the whole range of Africa"
The beauty of Uganda truly stood out to me when I visited in 2008. I remember on our first full day there our team took a trip to see the source of the Nile River, and the supposed two hour trip turned into a six hour drive. Everyone was jet-lagged, and many napped on the long, bumpy drive, but I couldn't stop staring out the window. The entire trip my eyes were glued to the scenery unfolding before me. It was like time slowed down as we drove for hours and hours, yet I couldn't soak it all in quickly enough. I never could have imagined such simple and untouched beauty! From the deep, crystal lakes to the snow-capped mountains... from the rolling, green hills to the majestic rivers... Uganda is a "pearl" in Africa in every way.
Pearls have always been my favorite gemstone, and I have recently been reflecting on the significance of this. A pearl is formed when a tiny sandstone finds its way under an oyster shell, and it is so irritating to the oyster that it works on the stone, and eventually this sandstone becomes a beautiful, smooth, shiny pearl.
The past few years have been ones of refinement for me. God has planted something deep in my heart. Something of great importance and significance. It has been stirring in my soul for years now, and I've never been able to relieve the irritation that it brought to my life.
You see, my experience in Uganda was also a redeeming one for me. I was changed. My worldview was altered in a way that I couldn't deny and couldn't ignore. My mind and heart were opened to God, his people, and his world in ways I've never known.
I was redeemed from the American Dream.
I was rescued from my plans.
I was saved from wealth and my own selfish ambition.
Has it been easy? No. Has it been comfortable? No. Does it scare me to my core sometimes? Yes.
These thoughts, emotions, and ideas continue to roll around in my mind and heart, over and over. Churning. Challenging me. Uncomfortable.
In fact, I know that some parts of my life in the coming years are going to be more than just uncomfortable. At times, they will even be irritating or painful. But I know that in the end it's going to turn into something beautiful. The thing that God has planted in my soul and that has consumed so many of my thoughts and emotions since then will become something incredible because I am "confident of this, that he who began a good work in (me) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
God is in the process of refining me...
The past few years have been ones of refinement for me. God has planted something deep in my heart. Something of great importance and significance. It has been stirring in my soul for years now, and I've never been able to relieve the irritation that it brought to my life.
You see, my experience in Uganda was also a redeeming one for me. I was changed. My worldview was altered in a way that I couldn't deny and couldn't ignore. My mind and heart were opened to God, his people, and his world in ways I've never known.
I was redeemed from the American Dream.
I was rescued from my plans.
I was saved from wealth and my own selfish ambition.
Has it been easy? No. Has it been comfortable? No. Does it scare me to my core sometimes? Yes.
These thoughts, emotions, and ideas continue to roll around in my mind and heart, over and over. Churning. Challenging me. Uncomfortable.
In fact, I know that some parts of my life in the coming years are going to be more than just uncomfortable. At times, they will even be irritating or painful. But I know that in the end it's going to turn into something beautiful. The thing that God has planted in my soul and that has consumed so many of my thoughts and emotions since then will become something incredible because I am "confident of this, that he who began a good work in (me) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
God is in the process of refining me...
It's not always comfortable.
But I trust that it's going to have a beautiful outcome.
But I trust that it's going to have a beautiful outcome.
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