Rural Homestay Lessons Learned: Dependence

Dependence. This is something I’m not sure I will ever attain to the depth that my family experiences it. hey live in utter dependence upon the Lord because they have to. They are dependent on the Lord because not all food and medicine is certain. A disease could wipe out the cattle. A drought could ruin the crops. Mosquitoes could bring malaria. They don’t have many of their options for food and income when that happens. They must rely fully on the Lord. While it’s a scary thing, it’s a beautiful thing. They are able to see the Lord’s faithfulness more clearly because they are looking for it. They are able to trust in him and display a great confidence because they have seen him come through again and again. They also are dependent upon one another. They have each other’s backs. They care for the need child and family, even in their own need. Coming from a culture where we are highly developed and where dependence is so valued, I’m beginning to see that we might have it wrong.

I believe dependence is necessary to fully live as a follower of Christ in this world. I think we are tempted to only rely on God in the “big” things, but I have begun to see this play out in my life more in the little things. As I learned from my family in Kyere, I began to pray for the little things. I prayed on the last night that I could see the whole sky of stars without clouds, but I also prayed for the rain that the ground so desperately needed. God answered both of my prayers that night. I prayed that my camera, which had run out of battery on Wednesday, would work for family pictures on Thursday and Friday. It worked until I got into the car to leave. The other day, a group of 3 of us mzungus (white people) were in Kampala waiting on a taxi. It was rush hour and it was nearly impossible to find a taxi going to Mukono. Then three more mzungus walked up. Then three more. So there are 9 mzungus waiting for a taxis in the middle of about 100 Ugandans. Of course, we were making a scene. So Caitlin and I prayed that God would bring taxis for us, and I jokingly added at the end, “An empty one for all of us.” And in God’s timing, an empty taxi pulled up just as 4 more mzungus from our group walked up. Therefore, we had a full taxi of mzungus going directly back to campus. Now, maybe that taxi would have come anyways, and the prayer was just me being goofy. Or maybe that was just God’s faithfulness in the little things. Maybe I wouldn’t have seen God in that way if I hadn’t prayed. The taxi would have come and I would have maybe patted myself on the back for being good at hailing a taxi.

I don’t know if this makes sense, but in a society where we can do most things “on our own,” I think we miss God’s sustaining work and his grace in the little things. Therefore, we are not dependent on God to show up. All I know is that I want to live a life marked by dependence. A life mark by desperation, where if God doesn’t show up, I fail.