Waiting

It seems like the entire world is waiting... for the obvious. For COVID to stop wreaking havoc on lives, plans, closures, and so much more. 

It seems inevitable that it will come up in every conversation because it has seeped into almost every corner of the globe effecting the lives of billions of people. 

Here in Bundibugyo it is no different. Although we have no known cases here in our district, our daily routines have changed. Our back burner thoughts now give more attention to public health concerns and fear of breaking the stringent rules more than ever before. 

But still we wait.

We wait for the next presidential address. The possible lifting of the ban against public travel. The slow reopen of businesses. The gradual movement back toward normalcy (if it could be called that now or if we even want normal back again). Our 5 week semi lockdown will/may/could end Tuesday but again we wait. 

No one likes to wait. But it’s useful. It forces us out of our busyness and into our minds, our back burner or even farther back thoughts. It makes us intentional instead of distracted and kept busy by our work.

I’m not the first one to say this but let’s not waste this waiting. In the waiting, which often feels like idleness, I am reminded that Jesus asks us to come to him. Take his nourishing offer of bread and wine, body and blood. All who are weary and broken hearted. And I know I’m not alone in saying in the waiting I’ve become weary and in the pain of this season my heart breaks. And to find rest that only he provides. Rest that nourishes our souls. 

A young guy planted a garden for us last May with local vegetables - cassava and sugar cane and something else that didn’t make it. The sugar cane was eaten long ago. The cassava though, it takes a year for the roots to be ready for harvest. We ate sombe from the fresh leaves multiple times as the plant grew over the last year but the roots take more time.  

The cassava has been whipped around by the wind, occasionally needing to be wrapped around each other to stay upright. It got pruned so we could eat from it occasionally. It got eyed by many children saying it was time to dig it up. But it was rooted and steadied and it kept growing and we kept waiting. 

Fill in whatever metaphors you’d like here. There are endless ones when you look at gardening and the gospel. But my main point here is waiting did this plant and us good. Even in the trying moments, the waiting was necessary, nourishing and worth it. The waiting may have felt idle but it had a purpose in it. 

Our house worker Asta (above) told us its time to harvest the cassava so after a few weeks of talking about it, we finally did it on Friday. With the help of our friend/yard worker Kwemala and of course our younger friends too who are always looking for something to occupy their time as school is still cancelled.

 

Counting out how many more roots were left in the ground that need to be discovered. 

Enough to send everyone home with a bundle for dinner.