2 1/2 months in Honduras, 2 1/2 months in Thailand, and 3 1/2 MONTHS in South Africa.
To say it plainly, I was not too excited for this last stop on our trip.
It was not going to be the Africa I had always wanted to go to, the one with dirt roads, huts, and women who carry baskets on their heads.
It is the exact opposite.
My first week in South Africa was for debrief in a place called Simon's Town. This old fashioned town where the main street sits in front of gorgeous mountains and overlooks the crystal blue ocean, words cannot even begin to do it justice.
A place where I got to see dolphins swimming in the ocean for the first time.
A place where the stars shine so brightly you can see the milky way.
A place that legitimately looks like a moving picture, with waves that go as far back as your eyes can see, and waves that crash with such a tremendous force against the rocks you can see the ocean spray from miles away.
A place where it's a part of daily life to see penguins waddling down the road.
A place that effortlessly offers the most majestic sunrises and sunsets. Every single day.
A place where every shop, restaurant, church, house, and every building in general looks perfectly quaint, polished, and vintage.
The first day I felt a tinge of guilt about staying there for a week but my sweet Jesus stopped me in my tracks with four words.
"Let me bless you."
When I asked Him why, He's already blessed me so much, His response took me by surprise a little.
"Because I love you and I want to."
So simply put, because I love you and I want to. Why is it surprising, even though I know I serve a loving God, that He gives us things just because He wants to? Because love is giving and God is love.
When you love someone you want to bless them, to shower them with your affection. Our Father, whose love we cannot even comprehend, has that love for us times infinity.
In His eyes, we are His most beautiful creation.
Do you truly understand what that means? I don't even know if I fully do.
I have seen sunrises, sunsets, mountains, oceans, and clouds that have literally taken my breathe away. The beauty is astounding. I can do nothing but stand in awe of the Creator who formed them.
And yet, WE are the apple of God's eye. These amazing pictures He has painted in this world pale in comparison to the masterpiece that He considers us to be.
I have had but a taste of that love and it has left me hungry for so much more. And almost more importantly, it has fueled a desire in me to share that love with others, to let them know they have access to this love too.
A love that blesses, forgives, and redeems.
A love that is unfailing, overflowing, and constant.
A love like that cannot be contained because it is meant to be shared.
