Sitting in the airport in Cape Town awaiting a long flight to Addis Ababa and then another to Toronto, the feeling is surreal. I sit gazing at the beautiful mountain range that surrounds one of the most beautiful vistas in the world, in the midst of a glorious summer day. I am bracing for the re-entry to winter and bitter cold, not sure why anyone would want to leave here!
My S.A. BFF, Joan brought me to the airport before taking off for her job and we said our good-byes on the curb, fighting back the tears. I feel so embedded here with dear friends and youth that I have watched grow out of childhood into young adulthood. The life stories abound and they are not mine to tend or fix, just to observe with love and caring. Today I ask for your prayers for one tiny baby about to be taken too soon by C-section due to the mommy’s Pre-eclampsia. As I leave the surgery is planned for Wednesday when baby will just reach 7 months and weighs in at 1.6 K (3.5 lbs). My heart is filled with so much love for these young parents as well as the baby I hope to meet one day. There are countless stories like this one, stories of young ones working to move ahead out of the circumstances their lives have given them, into jobs, successes, allowing them to bring their greatest gifts to the world. I hold so much hope for each of them, sometimes unreasonable, unrelenting hopes as the challenges mount and persist. But some will make their way into a brighter future and will bring glimmers of hope to the small town that has raised them up in the midst of a climate of hopelessness.
If I had a million dollars, I would likely leave it here to do whatever money can do. Part of me would like to stay on and see what entrepreneurial projects could emerge. But those things are not in the real world. So I do and give as I can and then let go, just as you do when you send your children off to college. Things will unfold as they should and my only job is to spread love all over the place. The more complex the situations appear, the more I focus on keeping an open heart and trusting. I keep my heart open, knowing that only Love can find the way.
The hugs, the laughter and tears are worth the price of the travel and truly heal me at depth,
Robin