Sunday, 29 May 2016

Family and friends.






A very good friend once said to me:
 "You got to love family for they are the only people who knows us very well
 Yet they still choose to love us any ways. They accept us for who we are and most of all, they have to put up with us. Who on earth would do such a crazy thing…if not family?"
 And it turns out that he was right!

During our school break I traveled up North in order to unplug and embrace the joy of spending time with my family. My first stop was Grootfontein which is still home for me because that's where my Priceless Pearl of Africa lives (my mom) and there I got to spend an awesome time with her and half of the family. After a week and a few days I made my way up, up North deep in to the woods where my dad lives in the village. It was quite a life. By that I mean an amazing life; simple and peaceful yet hard work! Which is kind of a norm during our harvest season.
One of the things I learned and keep on learning every time I go home is that the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. Being part of a family is a great blessing yet those blessings brings their own challenges too. I call them "good challenges" because they are not there to bring division among the family they are simply there to reveal or expose our selfish and prideful hearts. They humble us and teach us to seek joy by putting the welfare of others above our own (which is not always easy). But that is what love is. Which ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family. So many times I look at my family and I can't help it but to thank God for a group of fellow imperfect people that I can call my family. For a place I can call home. Where the feeling of security and constancy of love is a rich blessing. Such love nurtures and sustains faith in God. Such love is a source of strength and belonging. Sure enough my family is not perfect but I am glad that I can still walk away every holiday and thank God for each one of them.
                                                            
                                                             Life in Grootfontein


                                         


                                                                  Life at the Village















After my trip home I traveled up to the coast where I got the chance to spend an awesome time with one of my awesome little friend Nea. It was quite an experience which a friend of mine calls “mom training days”. I have to be honest and admit that every time I baby sit I always walk away with a deep reverence towards the moms whose’ kids I babysit because surely it’s a full time job! Some times I think it’s a learning process that takes someone' a life time to achieve. You get to learn about strengths you didn't know you had and deal with fears you didn't know existed. It’s a beautiful thing but also scary at the same time. So I do praise God that I survived my "mom training days".  Each day brought it's own challenges and happiness. But I had the best time ever during this holiday!  

                                                                     Life with Nea


















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