Just seconds ago we lost power (I'm using a laptop). Wendy was down making copies, because the power had been out for nearly 3 days in the upper compound, and you guessed it, power went out down here...a little annoying to say the least. But, we all can agree here in Uganda, we'd much rather be without power than without water. No question! When those in more developed worlds hear the phrase, "Water is Life" it's meaning is a bit watered down (sorry, couldn't resist) from those of us who live in less developed parts. Don't feel sorry for us, I'm just stating a fact. Wendy and I were just in the states for nearly 10 weeks and not one time was I concerned about water, much less power. And if I were being completely honest, I've gotten to kind of enjoy the moments when power is out...there's a solitude and silence which follows...you can choose to be annoyed, or choose to appreciate. I'm slowly learning the latter.
Losing power has little to nothing to do with persevering. But let me tell you a short story about a little girl whose arm was completely broken for one day shy of a week, and barely complained about it. Her name is Faith Ayio, and if you are reading this and you are her sponsor, well then, get ready to be impressed...not by anything FNC did, but by this little girl! Faith is 6 years of age, and is in 2nd grade...(in fact I just had to double check with Diana, our head administrator to make sure she was actually in second grade...the girl is bright! It must run in the family because her older sisters whom also attend FNC are just as smart...if only God was so good to me in that department!) It wasn't till Friday of last week did we discover from an X-ray that her arm was actually broken, IN TWO PLACES! Faith had fallen on wet stairs at her home the past Saturday, and to her mothers defence, Faith's arm really didn't look broken. Of course Faith complained some about the discomfort but never shed so much as a tear about it, at least not at school. Tough would be an understatement. Suffering and persevering, for sure! Faith is now in a much needed cast applied by one of our local hospitals here in Kampala. You should have seen little Faith's face after she received her treatment...in fact, here's a picture...I believe it tells the rest of the story.
All of us at one time have fallen, maybe not in the physical sense (though I'm sure we all have in that way as well), but in the spiritual sense. All of us at one time have been broken, whether it be emotional or physical, and sometimes both. As children of God, sometimes we fail to get the proper treatment we need, when we need it. Usually it has to do with our pride, not asking for help. Sometimes, we're just afraid. I've been there, in all of it. Then other times the help we ask for comes from the wrong source, be it a wrong person or substance. Thus, we compound our fall till we have no other choice than to fall again, this time on our knees, and ask the True Source for the help we so desperately need. I thank God He's ever waiting on me to fall forward, humble myself, and ask him for my healing.
Faith was different. Faith tried to let her family know, she even tried to tell us, "Something is wrong with me." Why did it take almost a week for someone to act, take the time, to do the right thing? Because we weren't listening. Oh, I'm not suggesting anyone ignored the situation...but a week??? How many opportunities have I missed because I failed to listen, whether it be to a friend, family member, complete stranger, work mate, God, a little girl with a broken arm? A lesson learned? I hope so. For all of us here. Maybe the power needs to go out more often.
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