I not only left behind my life long friends, family, conveniences of an American life, successful business, and church, but also my Type A, ‘busy body’ personality while moving to Africa.  For those of you who know me ‘well’, you know that I was always chasing my own tail, taking multi tasking to the next level, even making one ‘check list’ before another one was complete in hopes of never wasting a moment and always trying to add more minutes and hours to my day. Sleep was always the last priority, but all of that has changed…

Some how over the course of time, I evolved from an over active Type A personality into a slow pace, easy going, take it as it comes individual.

Now that I’m back on American soil, I’ve watched the lives of those around me and I see a ‘Know it all personality’ which is always an annoying trait in some one.  However I have to chuckle to myself and remind myself, that I once was (and maybe still am) the same way.  Yikes!  As my mom always quoted “Pride goes before the fall” or even a former boyfriend would remind me, “even a fool looks wise if he keeps his mouth shut.” So for those of you who ask why I believe that God called me to Africa, I’ll say this.  God removed me from my comfort zone, and placed me with in a new culture, climate and society maybe for nothing more than to show me that ‘I didn’t know ‘One’ thing’ and I couldn’t even pretend to ‘know it all’. It not only stripped me of my prideful perceptions, and leadership traits (as I couldn’t lead some thing I knew nothing about), but also humbled me more and more, and allowed me the chance to be a servant and not so self centered maid, catering to my own wants and needs.

I’m not sure what this time ‘state side’ is for or what lessons I’ll learn, but I know that God has me back ‘here’ for a time and ‘season’ and I know that the God I serve is never early, and never late, but always on time.  So I trust that He’ll reveal to me the purpose of this time (state side) when He chooses and He’ll guide me step by step, as I seek His will for my future.

I believe that He’s allowed me to embrace, enjoy, and evolve into ‘a Zambian’ for more than one reason.  And I can’t imagine that he’ll allow me to be gone from my ‘African home’ too long, but rather he may be using this time state side to ‘re-fuel and prepare me for what is to come’ as I head back to Zambia sooner than later… yet only He knows and only the spirit will lead me back to the comfort of my mud hut now… or never.

My family has heard the comments time and time again.  “God uses ‘circumstances’ to get our attention”. And most of you believe that God allowed all those ‘close calls’ recently to get my attention only so I’d come back to American soil (where you think I’ll be safe, yeah right!).

Yet I would beg to differ on the reason so many ‘outlandish’ things happened time and time again. I can’t help but think back and to and reflect on Hebrew 11, the FAITH chapter. That speaks time and time again of individual after individual that by FAITH they moved ‘mountains’ during the circumstances the Lord led them through.  Look at Noah, Job, David, Rahab, Moses and the list goes on and on… MANY people who were faced with trials and tribulations yet they stood their ground and allowed their faith ‘roots’ to go deeper and deeper as the heat increased.  Sometimes God allows us to be tested JUST to show others that Faith in HIM will deliver ‘you’ in the end.