by John Biggs
I’ve been in South Africa a week now, visiting with my family and working on my uncle’s ranch in the Karoo. On Saturday, my grandparents and I visited the Valley of Desolation in the Camdeboo National Park, just outside the town of Graaff-Reinet.
I was expecting a barren landscape, something dreary and empty to go along with its name. Instead I saw life blooming everywhere, atop majestic rock formations and in hidden little clefts, with so many colors on the rocks around. The sky had enough scattered clouds that the light came down in sheets and beams, bathing the towers of red rock and making the cliff edges look even steeper.
As I picked my way around sharp thorns (3-6 inches long!) looking for birds, animals, and flowers, I thought about how misnamed this valley was. Most likely the early European settlers came across it in a dry season when there was no hint of the life beneath the surface. It’s been a good season for rain, though, and the earth is blooming. Important not to judge a place (or person) too quickly, I suppose!
On Sunday, I went to my uncle’s farm, Vrede, where I’ve been working since. I’ve been helping to herd ostriches, collect ostrich eggs, and I’m slowly learning to drive stick-shift (where the stick is on the left-hand side!). I’ve also eaten a lot of good food, and played and hunted with the dogs here.
Herding ostriches requires a lot of patience. I found myself getting very frustrated because these big, powerful birds are very reluctant to go through an open gate. And this can become a bit of a bother when we need to herd them (or flock them, I suppose) across several fields and gates. But, when I get frustrated, I may get too excited and scare them even farther off track, or miss an escaping bird, or something similarly difficult.
It got me thinking about how important it is to not react to a situation in front of me, but rather to respond to—and be impelled by—grace. I remembered something that Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love” and I realized I could quite naturally act gracefully, even if the circumstances gave me no reason to.
The Bible says, “We love him, because he first loved us.” Along that same vein, we love, not because every situation is handed to us all wrapped up in bows and ribbons. We just love. Pretty soon, I was so involved with trying to be a graceful ostrich herder that I just wasn’t impressed anymore by the ostriches’ behavior. And wouldn’t you know it? The day finished off harmoniously, and every herding time since then has even been enjoyable!
The sky is bright, the landscape reminds me of New Mexico, and it’s just a bit cooler every day. I’m really grateful to be here. It makes me realize that every day is a gift to be given and received, no matter where we are!
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Wow, thank you for this powerful idea! We just love because that’s what we are, what we do. So natural. What a satisfying idea!