Sunday, March 28, 2010

sucker punch... ouch



T-minus 60 days until my departure from Ghana. It is inconceivable that nearly a year has passed by since this adventure began. Soon, I am going home. Lately, I have been feeling the pangs of the countdown.

You know the, “This is my last mid-term exam to administer. This is my last story hour with the kindergarten class. This is my last movie day.... this is my last... this is my last... this is my last.”

Among the pangs of sadness, I am also feeling a sense of urgency.

“I only have three more weeks to teach this. I only have one more week to cover that. But what about this, oh yeah and that too!”

I am beginning to think of all the “things” I will leave behind that are undone. I am beginning to focus on what I did not have time to finish...


...


This is the story of one girl, who, in search of herself found God, but sometimes confuses the two.


Once upon a time there was a girl. This girl was called Wunzoya, which in her language meant “God is BIG”. Now unbeknownst to her name, Wunzoya believed she was big. Wunzoya was loved and adored as a child, and never struggled in her life... so she really did not need help from anyone. She knew that all things were possible, if she worked hard enough. She wanted to make her life count for something, and unsure of that "something" she set out in search of "it"... “It” being the true meaning of life.

Wunzoya succeeded in school. She graduated from college with high honors. She even met someone and got married.

“Now”, Wunzoya thought, “This is the true meaning of life”.

However, Wunzoya was not happy. Wunzoya spent the next several years doing all the right things, saying all the right things, and even smiling at just the right moments. Wunzoya baked cakes. She read books. She hosted dinner parties. She decorated her house. She even paid her bills on time.

And Wunzoya was not happy.

Okay, so Wunzoya baked more cakes. She read more books. She bought more things to fill her house... and the bills, they were paid too.

And Wunzoya was not happy.

One day, Wunzoya had a memory from her youth. She remembered meeting The One True God. And she remembered being happy.

As you read this story, you might think this is when the story has resolve for Wunzoya... but not yet.

Wunzoya decided to leave her kitchen, her books, her couch, her amoires, and her husband in search for her happiness again.

And Wunzoya is...


In Africa. Teaching English. Learning about life. Learning about love.

And Wunzoya is...


...she is still searching, but aren’t we all?


...


As the countdown continues I keep thinking about everything I have left undone. A wise Jewish carpenter once said,

“It is finished!”


and who cares what I have done anyway. I’m just a Wunzoya! My days are numbered, but God’s are infinite. The real work begins when I get out of the way.


“Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you."

"But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.” Jesus


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