It took me 30 seconds.
One Mississippi....
Two Mississippi...
Three Mississippi...
Yesterday I went with two amazing woman from The School of St. Jude and visited children at the orphanage in Nkoranga and the Happy Watoto home for children in Kikatiti. As I was perusing my pictures last night, I was putting together an album of the fab four (see previous blogs) and I totally scanned over Selemani's pictures without noticing IT.
Ten Mississippi...
Eleven Mississippi...
Twelve Mississippi...
As I meandered my way through all the shots, all I could do was marvel at how handsome he is becoming. He's gonna' be a lady killer and I just scanned through my mind about all the education he's going to need-- about being a good boyfriend, protecting himself from HIV, becoming a hard worker, discernment as a husband and father-- my mind was wondering off.
Twenty-two Mississippi...
Twenty-three Mississippi...
Twenty-four Mississippi...
I loved how in all of his pictures he is full smiles! The last few visits I had with him resulted in giant tears and a very sad boy. But not this time! This time he was all smiles, with giggles and laughter, and conversation and eye contact, and kisses and WAIT! Oh my gosh! What? Um, no. Cant be? Oh my gosh! How did I miss it?
There! 30 seconds into looking at my pictures and I see it! Finally. How could I have missed it? Do you see it? There, in his right eye (left side of pictures), the cataract/tumor thing in the center of his eye is...well...smaller. SMALLER? How can that be?
For the next 10 minutes I thoroughly inspected the pictures I took and compared them to the pictures I took in previous weeks. Eventhough there is a flash glare in the eyes on every picture of the children, I could still clearly see Selemani's weird eye tumor thing... and this time without a doubt it looked smaller. Smaller. I am not making this up.
I recalled the whole visit and how Sele approached me and Happy. In past visits, he has turned his head a funny way as if he couldn't get a good view from that eye without adjustment. But this week, he just looked right at me. He handed me a bowl and come and gave me a hug without missing a beat. And THAT has just not happened in a while. And after pondering all the things that I was discovering about the visit, it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. It occurred to me why Selemani's eye was doing better.
What occured to me was this: Jodie Howell.
Like a true servant , Jodie Howell has lived her life in the glorification of God and all his goodness. She will hate that I am writing this about her as she would tell me the focus should be on God. And I agree with her. But still, she is a daughter, mother, friend, student, wife, teacher, colleague, confidant, and a whole list of other persons that would just be too numerous to list. But equal to all, and not above all, she is "just Jodie". I say "equal to all" because she has exemplified to me the heart of a true servant of God. She edifies in a way that I cannot explain. She makes me feel special while reminding me that everything, every good thing, every bad thing, must come back to God. She somehow uses her very being as a translator for when God is speaking and I can't seem to comprehend. But Jodie offers up herself in such a manner that you forget she was even the intercessor. She just connects me to the best part of myself and plugs me into God even when I didn't realize I was "unplugged". And how she is helping Selemani right now is successful because Jodie is being just Jodie-- prayerful, thoughtful, and faithful.
A few days after I posted my original blog about how I was concerned about Selemani's eye, Jodie contacted me about sharing his story and praying for him. "Why not?" I thought to myself, and told her she could share and pray about anything she wanted. Honestly, I have thought NOTHING of it since she asked. People offer the trite "I'm praying for you" all the time and it really turns out to mean nothing but idle facebook chatter. But not Jodie. And I should have known. Among her travels, time spent with the grandkids, bible study, and overall duties as a citizen of the world, I should have known that she would take time for my little Selemani.
Jodie is a pray-er. She talks to God with the ease in which I am writing this blog. And to God, in this moment, I sincerely say "THANK YOU". Jodie in all her Jodie-ness is just doing what a good daughter of Christ should do; telling him her worries and concerns, and leaving it up to him to fix. And guess what??? Its working.
I don't know if Selemani's eye cataract/tumor thing will go away completely. I don't know if he will ever receive the proper medical care that he deserves. But what I DO KNOW is that Selemani is important to Jodie and she is making sure that God knows it. My faith is strengthened in the knowledge that her prayers are changing a little boy's life-- a little boy of whom she has never met and who literally lives half-way around the world from her. But it doesn't mater. He is a child of God and she see's value in him AND his eyes.
Love you Jodie. Keep being you. Selemani's life is changing because of the love of Christ, our Lord and Savior, and His promise to heal all who are afflicted. Here's to hoping that Selemani comes to know a God who has loved him and protected him for all time.
~Shae
4 comments:
I noticed that last time, how it looked smaller & he seemed much more focused, fantastic!!
Amazing testament of prayer! Sele is lucky he's got Jodie on his side. Thanks for going and visiting our kids, in Cradle and in other places, too. It's great to see their pictures and know you're keeping in touch with them.
Dearest Shea, thank you for such generous and kind words. I feel as if I’ve been eulogized while still living! A very special gift indeed. However, as you knew that I would, I must do some “truth telling” that should set the picture straight for anyone who might misunderstand that I somehow have some magical prayer-power or special “in” with God that is not afforded all His children, we who are “jars of clay” that hold the precious treasure of His Spirit and are invited to intimate conversation that just happens to be called “prayer.” That being said, as a believer in the good gifts of the Spirit, I do know that one of mine is a calling to and affinity for intercessory prayer. I literally have a hard time reading the daily newspaper without praying for people and situations. My journey to understand this gift is very long and twisting! From a positive perspective, it gives me great joy to pray for people; yet, the burden of ever-lengthening lists of prayer requests eventually felt smothering. It has been a calling that feels like a puppy dog constantly nipping at my heels and to be honest, I’ve periodically turned my back on it as it became too overwhelming. Or I should say, as I MADE it overwhelming. A turning point came for me while I was at Asbury and offering to pray for people on the school intranet site not unlike Facebook. I had a professor who also visited the site and prayed directly for people “in the moment” which intrigued me. I can’t say how it happened, but I eventually could see that she viewed herself as a conduit for prayer, not a container. Thus was birthed in me the idea to pray for people immediately as she did, and then to let them go, trusting that the Spirit that intercedes for us without words (Romans 8:26) would bring them back to my mind if I was to be a part of that “conversation” again. From that time on, I have rarely kept what could be called a “proper” prayer list, although I do spend times of concerted prayer in special circumstances (i.e. praying for Muslims last month during Ramadan; special “house of prayer” spaces). All of this brings me to a “true confession” . . . Shea, once you brought Sele’s condition to our attention on your blog, I immediately felt called to pray for him . . . I prayed and then let it go. I did ask for and fully intended to share about the situation on Facebook but in the fog of my short-term memory, my intention was lost. The fact that I forgot, clearly reveals that the miracle of Sele’s eye IS all about God and his incomprehensible grace. This is very good news for all of us because unlike myself, God never forgets and his wisdom and grace are without measure! “We will thank you, O LORD our God, with all our heart, and glorify your Name for evermore.” Psalm 86:12
Jodie,your "truth telling" is alright with me! Praying once or praying 100 times does not negate the sincerity of your prayer(s). And its true, "God never forgets and his wisdom and grace are without measure!" You do have a gift and I know that it can become overwhelming. But I too am a believer in the "pray in the moment" prayers because, for me, those prayers have truly been the most sincere as my mind and body are focused on the topic at hand. It doesn't mean that I don't care enough to later pray about it. I understand your burden. Dedicating your life to talking to God, if just once, on a topic that you know is important is what carries the prayer through. Please feel free to share this story. I know it will be difficult for you to talk about yourself as you will fear that you are glorifying your own deeds... but you won't be. I promise. People need to know how powerful JUST ONE PRAYER can be. Selemani is living proof.
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