Walk by lightning

Last night my roommate Emily and I did something I would never thought we would do. We walked out on the street at night.We were told when we got here never to walk anywhere at night.

We had walked over to a small restaurant 5 minutes down the road to meet one of Emily’s new running friends to do a bible study of sorts. She assured me that he would walk us home (because bodas do not drive in the rain). I still wasn’t happy about it but I figured if we were with a local Ugandan than our odds were better. 

As we sat at the table waiting for him to arrive we ordered some buttered naan and watched the sky light up with the lightning. I love it here when it storms because sometimes there will be a ton of lightning and hardly any thunder (because I hate thunder).

Anyways we waited for 20 minutes and he never showed. The kitchen got backed up so by the time our naan had come out we got it to go. 40 minutes later, still no friend of hers. It was hardly sprinkling so we called our favorite boda guy, offering to pay him quite well… but because of the rain he had gone home for the night. What were we going to do?

We decided that since it’s raining there would probably be hardly anyone on the streets. And it was only 7:45 so it wasn’t too late. So we started walking back.

Growing up my dad had always told us to be aware of our surroundings. Taught us tricks to get out of sticky situations and what to do in case of emergencies. It wasn’t a traditional childhood but I am forever grateful because I think about things differently than others and it HAS gotten me out of some sticky situations before. So as we walked down the street I closed the umbrella and walked with it in one hand, a girl on a mission. 

I didn’t really feel scared but I had heard some stories and I wasn’t about to become one of them. I walked with a pace that made Emily fall behind, so I kept telling her to hurry up and walk faster. I probably didn’t sound very nice but oh well, I apologized later.

It was pitch black, no street lights to guide us, no stars to show us the way. 

I picked up my feet like I was marching because I couldn’t see the road and didn’t want to trip and fall. Which I do on a normal day because the roads are littered with potholes. This time the potholes were filled with water so you couldn’t really even see where was a safe place to step. As we walked the only light guiding our path was the lightning that would flash every minute or two. It would give us enough light to see what the next few steps were in front of us so we could walk safely. 

It reminded me of 2 Corinthians 5:7

“Walk by faith, not by sight”.
I literally had no sight. Only enough to make sure that my next 4 or 5 steps were on firm ground(not a puddle or a ditch) because of the flashes of lightning.

It’s funny because when I think about this whole Uganda trip and everything I’ve done in life the last 3 years even, it’s always been a leap of faith. I thought that when I got here the blindfold would be taken off and I would see my purpose and long term hope lay in the near distance but that has not quite been my reality. Everyday God gives me a small glimpse of what is to come which makes Him seem so very far away. Some days I don’t even get a glimpse. I’m just told to keep walking. So I do. I walk because of faith. Faith and hope that I am exactly where I need to be even though I don’t see it yet. God does, He knows the answers. And while I may not have anything but my faith I’m learning that God is growing that faith, it gets stronger each and everyday. The type of faith that can move mountains!

So for now I walk not by sight but by faith, with a little help from lightning.​