Girl, Interrupted

No running water.
No electricity.
No plumbing.
And the worst of all? No wifi.

As long as I have my phone though, I’ll be fine. I can take pictures and videos, write, read, listen to music, whatever I need to do to keep me sane.

It was only three days however, when the power finally went out.

When God wants something done, nothing can stop Him…not even the marvels of modern technology.

It was on the third day that our solar power chargers stopped working. For everyone. Coincidence? Not likely.

As I watched my battery slowly decrease the horrible feelings of dread inside me grew.
And then it was gone.
I was left in the dark.

And what did I find there? Without my camera, my apps, my videos, my flashlight, even my clock?

I found total, blissful freedom.

This idea of savoring every moment, living every day…it’s a wonderful idea. Magical even, but realistic? Nah.

I just didn’t get it. Even without wifi, I clung to my phone like a safety net. Looking at life through a lens, seeing the world beneath my screen. And God was having none of it.

He interrupted me.

At first I kept thinking to myself, “if only my phone were charged, I want to capture this moment.”
“What passage is that scripture again?”
“I wish I could pin my location.”
“I have no clue what time it is…”

By the fifth day something beautiful was happening that I’ve never experienced before.

What was it?

It was LIFE.
Life, UNinterrupted.

We sat on the wall, the men playing a game of soccer. A cool breeze blowing the trees up on the mountain as the sun sank out of view. My teammate, Vandella reading a chapter of Love Does out loud to me, and then another, and another. Talking about the quotes that caught our attention.

We were supposed to have dinner at 6:30 and then church service at 7…but the game continued to stretch on into the night, seemingly unaware of our plans.

Time runs more slowly in South American culture, however it’s almost non existent in Mojos.

Schedules, deadlines, and appointments don’t matter.

People exist. Community exists.
Life, as it should be, exists.

If there’s one thing I learned in Mojos, deep in the jungle where men walk an hour to collect firewood, women cook by fire and children love to work the fields, it’s the importance of being interruptible.

Whether it’s the touch of a child’s hand, asking to play a game or sing a song.
A woman doing her laundry by hand, lonely for conversation.
Or even a pastor, asking if you want to see how they harvest sugar cane.

It could be as simple as a phone call, a look, a touch. Be ready for it, be looking for it.

Please don’t waste your time away absorbed in the unimportant, don’t worry about petty things that will be forgotten by morning. Don’t miss a single moment.

I know what your thinking, one little moment wouldn’t matter, would it?
Oh but I’ve seen what can happen in a moment.

Forgiveness.
Mercy.
Healing.
Compassion.
Peace.
Redemption.
Joy.
Love.

And the most important of all, LIFE.

It happens so quickly, don’t let it pass you by

I’m thankful for Mojos and the transition I went through on top of that mountain. From being “Girl, Interrupted” to becoming Girl, Interruptible.