50 Days

Seriously?!  Really?!  No way!!

As I was walking around downtown Bloem this afternoon, I started to think and realized that I have exactly 50 days left until I leave South Africa.

I couldn’t believe it.  I actually stopped in my tracks, quickly did the math and realized that I was in fact correct.  This hit me like a brick from the sky, and I immediately felt a bit of sadness.  Of course I started to think of all the things I am going to miss once I leave.  I will miss my host siblings starting our nightly prayers with, “Thank you Lord for the world so sweet.”  I will miss the warm African sun and the way it introduces me to a new day as I walk to my taxi in the mornings.  I will miss the everyday excitements and twists and turns that have made my life exhilarating.  I will miss the spontaneous conversations between complete strangers that open my mind and heart to things I’ve never before conceived.  (The list goes on and on, but I will save that for my blogs closer to my departure!)

And so I began thinking to myself, “Ok Steele, you have to live it up your last 50 days here.  You have to spend every minute here in a worthwhile way and not take anything for granted.”  But then I realized that I’ve pretty much lived this entire year like that so far.  Everyone is guilty of taking things for granted, and I have been no exception throughout my life.  But I have lived so differently this year, and can honestly feel good about how I’ve spent my time.  I have been so blessed to be here, and truly understand what a privilege it is to serve my community.  So all I could do was smile and promise myself to really embrace my remaining days here.

My hope is that this newfound attitude towards life, time, and each waking day will stick with me when I am back home in the States.  I also hope that some of my experiences, stories and reflections will inspire others to see each day as a blessing, and to seize every opportunity in front of them.  I’ll never forget the day a friend here asked me, “Druza, are you ever in a bad mood?”  I could only simply answer, “Well, I am alive and am loving my life, so no.”  Don’t let a bad situation or mood get in the way of you embracing and loving life, the most awesome gift God has given us.

So later in my day I was browsing through a book in a bookstore when I came across a picture that caught my eye.  The picture was of a painting of an active township scene, with signs above a building displaying a phrase that perfectly sums up how I feel about my year here.  It read:

“Some say I’m in Africa.  The truth is…Africa is in me.” 

This will never change, not even 51 days from now when I am no longer in South Africa.  I will take the lessons Africa has taught me home, especially the lesson to Live Life.