Open Hands

On so many days it is easy to feel to weight of living in Africa - the poverty, the lack of things we are used to, missing people and the places we know etc. Other times, we feel the absolute gift of this time. The last two days we experienced the joy of this season, some of which is directly related to being here, other parts come from the window our family is in right now, a window that we are slowly watching close as Mackenzie turns the corner from "child" to young adult. These years in Zambia will always serve as a bookend of her childhood -- and an extended bookend given the amount of time we have together relative to home. I will always be thankful for this time.

Friday night we had pizza and movie night, made particularly sweet after an unusually trying week at work and not a lot of good time together. We all piled into our bed and watched Lassie on my laptop. We fell asleep sprawled across the bed and eventually got everyone in their own bed. We woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning - the rainy season is almost officially over which means day after day of blue skies. The beauty of Saturday morning was enhanced by the knowledge that this was the new normal. Molly left for Rugby practice - yes Molly took up touch rubgy that she wishes was tackle - and the kids and I got ready to take Bennett and Clara to horse riding lessons at a place we had not been. We drove 15 minutes from home and arrived at a gorgeous riding center at the base of two hills...The riding center was surrounded by eucalyptus trees which always reminds Molly and I of Santa Barbara and Westmont. Clara and Bennett got matched up with two ponies and took off with their class on a trail ride into the hills. Molly showed up from Rugby practice and Mackenzie and I went on a short trail run. It was filled with beautiful views with everything bright green after 3+months of the rainy season. After our run Kenz and I drove to their school about ten minutes away to do a swim workout together. (We are doing a triathlon at school in April.) Molly then brought Ben and Clara over after the lessons and all the kids swam and Molly and I just enjoyed the moment.

We then headed home and began getting ready for a dinner we were having. Kenz went to a birthday party and Bennett and Clara had our Zambian neighbors, Exit, Trenche and Lucas over for a couple hours of playing. Molly and I moved our porch table out under our "insaka" (thatched roof, open walled structure) and set up for dinner. We had two couples over and had a wonderful candle light dinner outside. Lots of laughter and light moments. The kids all fell asleep in our bed while we had our dinner.

Sunday morning was another gorgeous day that started with coffee and reading outside. Kelvin, our Sunday guard, was greeted with a big hug by Bennett. Bennett and Kelvin have developed a really neat friendship. They made new arrows for Bennett's bow and sharpened a stick for a spear and proceeded to hunt lizards for the rest of the morning. When Bennett went out at 7:30 a.m., he did not come inside again until dinner - literally. (why pee in a toilet when you can go on a bush in the "back 40" of our plot?) One of the best things about this time, I think, is what it means for Bennett. He is living life like I think it was originally designed for boys - Outside, shorts, no shirt, no shoes, grass, dirt, sticks, a couple balls, a tree house, a pool, lizards, frogs, turtles, rabbits, a couple wise mentors in Kelvin and Oswald (who model patience and playfulness to me) in short, paradise.

We had brunch around 11:00 and sat at our fancy table still under the insaka. Some good sharing and conversation. We then got ready for a few families that were coming over with their kids to try an informal "Sunday school" for our kids...We did several games related to our theme of "Trust" and then read a few passages of scripture with the kids that pointed to what and who we can ultimately trust. Everyone left and then Molly, Bennett and I played soccer and the game "500" as the day cooled down and evening came.

This weekend was a much needed respite and "filling time" that God knew we needed. Sometimes, like this weekend, the skies clear (so to speak and literally) and we experience life like God intended it...Because we are living in what we believe is a temporary setting, we live with the sense of the importance to grab every day...This is one of the many great lessons of this time, regardless of if we are "settled and home" or living on the other side of the globe. In the midst of this wonderful weekend, I missed living here in the future. I was reminded of the poem, I think by Frost, that talks about how "Nothing Gold Can Stay..." In other words, every good thing in life is a temporary gift (except the gift of faith), and the more we try to clamp down and hold on to it, the more elusive it becomes. We are reminded to embrace the goodness of our day to day lives, but hold onto it with an open hand.