Every Saturday our team goes to the Internationally Displaced People’s camp to hand out bags of ugali to families who were tragically affected by the violent riots and clashes that occurred during the 2007 elections. Our team has especially felt called to build deep relationships with this particular group of people and to disciple those who want to learn and grow.
Later in the day as I was doing house visits with Lindsey and Logan, another group from our team approached our house saying that they happened to come upon a mother who had been in labor all morning and needed a ride to the hospital back in Kijabe. So as different people raced around the camp to gather the rest of our team God opened a door to reveal how He is ALWAYS in control.
I walked back with Vicki, our pastor’s niece (an amazing woman of God, cook, and Christian who has a heart for mission work-but that’s for an entire different blog) to the home where I got the opportunity to comfort Lucy, the expecting mother. It just so happened that I ended up by myself with this woman who had never met me before, didn’t speak my language, and was having painful contractions every five minutes! My mind went blank until God told me take this woman’s hand. So I motioned to her to squeeze the pain of her contractions into my hand. As I sang her the song “God is So Good” in Swahili hoping that she could understand some of the words tears began to flow from her eyes.
Throughout this day the Lord really proved his sovereignty in all situations-both the good and the bad.
I titled this blog Sweet and Bitter Providences for several reasons:
1. I just finished reading John Piper’s book A Sweet & Bitter Providence that dives into the book of Ruth and reveals how God’s hand is present in times of joy as well as times of suffering.
2. John Piper says that behind a frowning providence resides God’s smiling face and the Lord used these two women to reaffirm that this is true. In Matthew 10:29 Jesus talks about how not even a bird will fall to the ground apart from the will of God. Nothing happens without it being part of God’s plan.
3. We may never know the reasoning behind God’s will (such as in the morning when God broke my heart for the young mother who lost her baby)….but at times, God will allow us to see a tiny glimpse of His work (witnessing this young mother bring a miraculous baby boy into the world)
I am hoping to get a chance to visit the young mother who lost her child on our next trip to the IDP camp. I have yet to understand God’s reasons for taking this child away so soon. However, I can only put my complete trust in God’s purposes and know that He will use it to further His glory. My prayer is that God will prepare your heart and eyes in such a way that you can see the mighty hand of God and His work that is happening constantly all around us. He is a God that that is sovereign over the affairs of all men and His providence may not always be easy…but it always furthers the glory of his Kingdom.
