do you miss anything about Zambia? this is a question i have been asked quite a bit over the last month. i had been emphatically answering, ‘no’, but when asked this question yesterday, it suddenly occurred to me, ‘yes, i do’.
i miss the simplicity of life. existing in a place where time does not control life. i miss a culture that values people more than things. a society where it is considered rude to not greet a person, and where interaction with someone is considered a privilege. i miss a people that treasure the simple things in life, that dance when it rains, and smile at everyone. people who, when faced with difficulty, just keep moving forward. if the roof comes off in a storm, just pick it up and nail it back down… it’s simple. i watched a woman walk across a fast-moving stream, balancing herself on rocks, with a 50 pound bag of cornmeal on her head and a baby on her back, because that was the only way to get to her destination. i miss people who walk miles in both directions to get water or to go to school or to sell tomatoes or to visit a friend. a place where someone will always stop to help when it’s needed. where people move through life as a unit, not as isolated individuals. where community is something that is understood and valued.
there is a challenge before me now to find a way to keep life simple, to not complicate it. to value the things that matter eternally. to find my identity within a community of people. to not let the things that our society says are important rule me or dictate my decisions. to let life come as it does through His guidance and not try to force it. to appreciate the tiniest crumb and treasure the smallest drop of water. to walk, instead of ride.
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