My journey to the Homelands this weekend...

I went to Pietermaritzberg, South Africa for the weekend with Aunt Joyce, BoyBoy and Precious to visit their family in the rural areas. It's hard to imagine life that side without experiencing it, but it's like Tranquility....let me try to put it into words. In Rural Africa, one might say life is in slow motion; however, I've come to the conclusion that everyone else sprints through life and forgets to take time to soak in the "small" things. We wake up automatically in "Go Mode" - get the kids fed and to the bus, us to work on time; next, we check our messages for the day, o, and book our nail appointment for Saturday afternoon, make some coffee to get through the morning meeting on stock control; during our lunch "break" we take the car to the shop for an oil change while we run into WalMart to get a few things; we grab a Starbucks Mocha Frappachino before heading back to work; we get "off" at 5pm; we rush the kids to football and cheerleading, then the drive through at McDonald's is the next stop before heading home; hopefully while the kids bath and do their homework we can stay awake for our favorite TV show and maybe the news to find out what is actually happening in the world before falling asleep on the couch only to repeat this again and again and again.....sooner or later you wonder where did life go?

See, in the Homelands it's like you get to breathe in God's blessings each moment...you enjoy bathing even though it may take an hour to wash your hair with a cup and a bucket, one appreciates looking at the beauty outside while walking to the store to buy a loaf of bread or a role of toilet paper, you find such joy in seeing a child chase a cow in the backyard and spending time with people you love doing the simplest things like brushing your teeth beneath the stars...

God wants us to appreciate the beauty He created. How do we get to know our Creator if we never take time to even ponder what He has made? (Are we too focused on what WE can make in this life... financially, with our families, careers, churches, our social life.... ) SLOW DOWN and LET GOD!! Take time to fall in love with His creation and make time to spend with Him each day. Every relationship takes effort and energy to build; one has a desire to spend time with that person each day, and an overwhelming and unexplainable love for them. Are you in a relationship with Jesus Christ or are you in a relationship with yourself, your job, your life, your stuff? Find YOUR "Pietermaritzberg" YOUR Homeland where God wants to take you this week and show you His beauty, His rest, His joy, His peace, HIS TRANQUILITY!