Have you ever seen a sheep sneeze?

God has been speaking to me through really simple, random things these days. I was walking home from the village this evening, going through a long list in my mind of things that have made me frustrated, uncomfortable or homesick in the past few days. Then I saw something I’ve never seen before; I saw a sheep sneeze! Six or seven sheep were lying and standing behind a fence in the darkening evening, and the one closest to me sneezed right as I passed it. Unremarkable? Maybe so, but that sneezing sheep made me realize in an instant that I had been going through the wrong list in my head.

I’ll admit, seeing a sheep sneeze was not the most exciting thing I’d ever experienced, but it snapped me out of my pity party and opened my eyes to the amazingly blessed position I’m in. Until this newest season God has brought me into, I’d never been around herd animals enough to see one sneeze before. It made me wonder, what other “firsts” have I experienced since I moved to Lesotho. I started listing all the special, exciting, life-changing, and interesting new experiences I’ve had.
Living where the crickets and frogs are louder than the cars;
Praying with our kids for their peers who were at that moment performing the final rite to complete their cultural initiation;
Learning another language;
Learning how to get around without a private car;
Leading a group of kids as they attended their very first camp;
Doing my laundry by hand;
Riding a donkey;
Walking 40 minutes to and from work every day, rain, snow, or blazing sun;
Typing all email and facebook correspondence on my cell phone;
Eating dinner at 10 pm;
Eating chicken heads, feet, and intestines for dinner;
Not seeing another white person for weeks at a time;
Harvesting maize;
Teaching our kids the God story so they can share Jesus with kids in other villages;
Greeting a taxi driver on the road who was too sick to get out of bed let alone find a job when our team met him and prayed for his healing 6 months ago;
And best of all experiencing that God’s grace is truly sufficient for me, in all things at all times.

My list was far from exhaustive, but it did the job. God turned my frustration to joy with that sneezing sheep. How is he changing your heart today? I’d love to hear your story ☺

P.S. For those of you who read my previous blog, you are probably thinking “This girl didn’t learn the lesson on contentment God was trying to teach her last time!” You’re right ☺ Thankfully, he is merciful and gives us as many tries as we need to learn the things he wants to teach us!!! Will you pray with me that this time I’ll really learn the lesson?