thoughts from last week...

On Wednesday i drove down the lane going to town. I was leaving the lovely house that has been given to me to stay in rent free, I noted an handsome brown and white goat with horns. I always notice nice looking goats! The next day when i drove down the lane that same goat had Three Kids, all white with black spots jumping and nuzzling thier mother's udder. 

 

 On Saturday i shared thoughts about God from my Bible reading of Solomon building the Temple of God from I Kings 7&8 

with the men who worked tearing down plaster on the burnt house for the last two weeks. It was a poinient moment when I used a nickname they keep calling one of the guys, "My Dear", when i told all of them that that is the exactly what God thinks of YOU when he looks at each of you! 

 

That same day I met with the Women's Bible Study at the Busoro New Life Church, my neighbors. I showed them the beautiful things I had bought from Amani ya Juu in Nairobi. Afterwards I talked to them about the perfect things that were created to go in God's temple by Solomon. "There was nothing shabby that went in to the temple. This is an example for us as we consider creating beautiful textile art, nothing shabby but everything must meet a high standard of quality for God's glory."  Joyce the Country director at Amani ya Juu told me she saw many tears shed in the quality control room when items were examied. 

I like these women. We were few but we had a good time together. They were amazed by the beautiful quilt, Advent Wreath and other items i brought to show them. I asked them to begin praying and asking God to show us what local materials from the Batoro culture we can use to create art to sell. 

What does an African woman think when her husband of about 8-10 years does not come home several nights per week or does she try not to think at all? In the same line of thinking the grief of my friend whose niece (also my friend), whose husband stayed away at his family home for a month, upon returning told her he had taken a second wife because she could not produce a child for him. Grief and saddness floods our hearts.

I read in a book called "Emma's War", a quote from Emma's Sudanese father-in-law, "African men will always use their culture to take a second wife." I suppose God has a tender heart for men and women when we use our own selfish desires to choose what we want rather than follow the narrow way of sacrifice for someone we love. I am grateful that God has mercy on me when I follow my own selfish desires instead of making choices that bring glory to him.