I once watched a documentary on how positive people, who are generally optimists, live longer. Based in Britain, the presenter himself was more of a pessimist and even though he lives in one of the world’s most stable economies, he did not feel positive about the future. This is a bit of an irony for me. It was 33 years ago that I left Harare as an 18 year old and moved to Cape Town, where I did not have a single member of family.
I felt I had arrived in paradise. Cape Town was beautiful then and it is as beautiful now. But the continent of Africa brings with is enormous challenges of a political, economic and social nature. I can’t say we have nothing to worry about when it comes to these issues in Africa. In the UK, you can probably predict that the future of the country during my lifetime will be as secure as it has been over the last 50 years. Yet on TV I was watching someone who is pessimistic about his future in England. He has a good job as a television broadcaster, health benefits taken care of, a home, a happy marriage – yet he still feels gloomy about the future. I don’t get that!
Our Southern African society has been fractured and splintered into thousands of different pieces as families and communities scattered across the globe. It’s not uncommon for parents to have children on three different continents. You cannot control the next generation. They have to go where they can make a living and they go all over the place…
Whatever you do, pain comes with it. Leaving South Africa would be painful. Wrenched away from all we know, heading uncertainly into a whole new culture with new people and new rules would be very difficult. And then living there far, far away from family is one of the most painful existences that one can imagine. The deep longing for home is certainly intense at the beginning. It may wear off as time passes, but being away from family will always tug at the heart-strings.
Staying in Africa comes with the pain of not having a certain future, but I believe that when you are living in a state of uncertainty, you realise what’s important in life and you find yourself more dependent on God that on yourself or your country. It’s like having a lot of money. When you do, you feel secure in it – your security comes from wealth. When you don’t have a lot of physical wealth, you depend more on God.
I find myself coming back to what Paul writes in Philippians 4:12-13
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength..…”
Be happy, whatever your circumstances. Learn to trust God in big things and in small things, in a foreign land or in a familiar one; in times of plenty and in times of want. He wants you to trust Him to give you the strength for all of it. It’s a learned process, so be patient and allow God to strengthen you each day.
So whether you live in South Africa or if you have moved overseas, be happy because you are where God wants you. Do the best you can for Him.
Keep the smile going!
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂