This week has been a blessing as it is September, which means Spring for us! I experienced a hot season of Spring while being away on the game farm over the weekend but during the week it suddenly became cold & windy & in this dry, dusty Pretoria – the Spring Rains have come upon us. It has been cold & amazing cuddle weather – which can explain all the couples I’ve noticed but it has been refreshing to see the land washed clean of dust & smelling fresh every day.
Anyway, back to what I was thinking of saying…. I nearly gave a report back on what happened each day this past week but decided not to. My life is a bit hectic for that. Anyway, this week I just got to treasure stories. Stories of people, stories of people’s hearts & stories written by God! I was left in awe at how God works & the stories in our lives.
My week started out well, as it sounded as if there was a spot open at ECHO for a friend to go stay. The atmosphere at home for him is truly unbearable, so I am happy God is opening a new door for him. Anyway, Wednesday Anneke came home from work. She had resigned her job, she is moving out of our house, so that she could deal with all that had happened in her life. But greatest of all, she had done all this in faith, not knowing how she would pay for anything or what would happen but God provided. She would move in with a friend, whom had an extra room & said she could stay for free. Then, another of her friends is off to Cape Town 14 September & a friend sponsored Anneke with a ticket to & from Cape Town for that same weekend. Anneke, has been wanting to go away for so long but never gets the chance & lately Cape Town had been on her heart because at the beach she could always sort out her heart & mind. Now, she got the trip. God is so extremely faithful. I was so excited.
But while this was happening, I had been on the phone with a very good friend of mine, someone so close to my heart, Elicia. She had been on the brink of telling me great news too but when Anneke came in, I put her & her story on hold! But luckily, we were able to continue our conversation after Anneke left because I was on the brink of screaming from all the anticipation & excitement. Elicia has such a beautiful heart, words cannot describe & me trying to explain will never do her justice but she has a heart of gold, a servant-heart which I so dearly cherish. Anyway, one of the guys who spoke a Tuks Missions Week who gave his testimony of smuggling Bibles into a country a few times & was such a great man of God, had gotten to know my friend that week, and has been pursuing her weeks after. He asked her out, but before he was allowed to make it public she wanted to tell me. What a girl hey! Having her in my life has been such an incredible blessing and if anyone deserved a great prince – it was most definitely her. In the midst of loving God & loving people, God sent her a knight in shining armour. I am so extremely happy for them & hope many will hear of their story, find hope in it but also praise God for it.
Then, that evening, my lovely friend Mari shared her heart & a man of God she had gotten to know, but even if nothing comes of it, she has now seen what she admires & what a true man of God looks like. So even for her, there has been a great story. Apart from that though, 3 other couples I know have gotten engaged. Sorry to the guys & girls out there, but many of my friends seem to be taken off the shelf here in September, amazing ladies & great men too. I just want to congragulate the couples, Mitch & Jaydene – well it is about freakin time! God really comes through all they do so I am so happy for them, Mitch even designed the engagement ring for Jaydene – the prettiest ring I have seen by far – a beautiful flower. Then, one of the men that started our digs back in 2010 – Teodor & his fiancé, Marie-Louis, also about time hey! So happy for them, I’m sure God will bless them with many more amazing adventures together! And then a waitress I met while drinking coffee with Michael & Charl a few years back, while at Mugg ‘n Bean doing Bible Study. This girl just amazed me, her passion, her love for God while being so much younger than I am; she had such a maturity about her – Yonela & her fiancé, Mbali.
So, this week apart from all the love going around, was just me enjoying & cherishing stories & being able to see God’s hand in it & how He knows our hearts, our needs & deepest desires & how He also brings people together! I also just learnt how important it is for me to hear people’s stories. People always think all I do is meet with people & have coffee or ‘kuier’ with people, but it really is more than that. It is hearing the stories of people, their stories are often what defines them & as I have said before, when they tell me their stories, God speaks to me & I get to connect with those people but also with God on a deeper level. When we look at people, you don’t really know them…until you ask them or listen to their stories & then, a whole new world opens up in front of you. So this week, or further on, try cherish people’s stories, you may be surprised at what you hear…
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2 weekend’s ago (10th-12th May), I went home for my dad’s 50th. It truly was a blessed weekend as I got to see family and just spend quality time with my parents. It was a bitter sweet weekend as it really opened my eyes to the situation at home and how my parents are struggling financially and the time at home was way too short, but I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the deep conversations I had with my parents. We really opened up to each other and my dad really appreciated us coming home for his birthday and my mom was happy we were there for mother’s day. We also laughed a lot and my dad told lots of stories, I got to share details with them about the new budding relationship in my life and also just share my heart with them. It was great being able to lie against my dad and keep warm while talking on the couch and awesome to chill on my mom’s bed and just watch a movie with her. The weekend weather was cold and rainy, so it gave us a lot of time to spend indoors chatting and catching up. I also got to see one of my best mates, Stubbs, on Friday night for coffee and then we cooked supper for his mom. We both got to share and talk about new opportunities and prospects coming into our lives and what our future’s hold and just talk deeply about God and a bunch of stuff, sharing jokes and stories and coffee – it really was a blessing.
Dancing In The Wind 