Often times in working with many people, communities, and teams, there is so much wear and tear on my mind, body, and soul. By the end of this last week, I totally felt like a truck had run me over. Twice. I was sore physically from working long hours in the fields in our squatter camp of Mooiplaas. I was mentally exhausted from the relational aspects that come with dealing with many different types of people and lastly, I was aching emotionally from a hard week of battling for truth, keeping God in the center, and being in between many different facets of team and community dynamics.
I began to think in my mind how this last week was a bad week and how I just couldn’t wait for some rest at some point. But, the rest didn’t seem like it was anywhere on the horizon. I was struggling to see a point in being drained so much. While I was sitting in a meeting Friday in our community, just waiting for lunch, I wrote the questions down, “What does the Kingdom look like to you?”
I smiled.
There were moments this week that took my breath away because I realized how much I love seeing God’s Kingdom come to life but also how much I love South Africa and where God has put me. Some of my biggest prayers for working in the communities here in Africa are to see God’s Kingdom here between the blessed and broken mindset. We’ve been studying a lot about the Kingdom and I’m learning it’s sometimes in the little moments that we see God’s Kingdom in big ways.
I saw the Kingdom and faithfulness in returning to a school after two years to smiling faces that remembered me and were shocked and happy I returned. I saw the Kingdom in seeing kids come to life by dancing and smiling as our team worked with them to show them how loved and cherished they were. I saw the Kingdom come to life in teachers and workers who do not waiver in their commitment to teach kids about life and school beyond their circumstances of living in a squatter camp. I saw God’s Kingdom come down to earth when two groups from America and Africa sang worship hymns in Sepidi, harmonizing under the sun, and singing about the love of our one, true God. I saw the Kingdom in team member’s as their worldview’s were being shattered but built back up for God. I saw God’s Kingdom in new ways in the pure joy in worshipping and through song.
These moments were more than just moments for me. They were seeing the seeds being planted; growing, and harvested in all of the people we encountered this week. As I read this week, I came across a verse that now looking back, God used to show me these moments.
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
In the moments where the days are long and the weeks are hard, I want to remember to keep my eyes fixed on the Creator of the Earth that is unseen to the blind eye, but when looking around, I can see Him everywhere; even in the mundane and the amazing moments. I want to look to the eternal to keep trudging along. While I look all around me and see brokenness, I can look to God to show me His Kingdom in whatever we are doing. This week was extremely hard, but God’s Kingdom is everlasting and beyond worth it. This week, I urge you to ask yourself:
What does God’s Kingdom look like to you?
