This morning I heard the lions roar from the deck of the lodge.  Two males were on the go, looking for a place sleep away the day and making their presence known in the process.

Now I sit on a hilltop overlooking the plains, the sun coming up on the left while I look out over the hills.

Today we head back to the city.  We have come up to the hilltop one more time so I can soak in the morning sun and write while the world around me wakes.  My spirit is brimming with gratitude to the God who has met me here.  It is hard to believe it has only been four days.

One of my primary objectives in coming here was to work on the foundational chapter of the book about time.  I have been here before and knew that I had a connection with the land and the stars.  For the first two days I invested deeply in worship – saturating my room with music and bundling up at night to go out and sit under the Southern Cross.  During the day I wrote, but not on the main chapter.  On the third day I knew it was time.  I came out early again to this same hilltop and the words began to flow.  Upon arriving back at the lodge I had breakfast and asked for snacks in my room.  No lunch.  It was time to lock myself away.  I wrestled and wrote and re-wrote.  By the end of the day God had given me a new frame.  It felt right.  There is still much work to be done, but somewhere in the course of the day I hit on something that mattered.  I went into the evening with the feeling that I had done what I came here for.

I came with the goal of enriching the gift that I hope the book will be, and God has given me gifts that I hadn’t expected.  More than anything is a deposit in my spirit from this land that will affect every area of my life.  I will never worship the King the same, nor forget the gift of having all the immensity of the night sky for my spirit to expand into.  He has also given back to me a facet of my writing I still had not yet access to.  What I cast away He kept safely in store; treasuring it more than I could at the time.  It is fascinating to watch my returning love for writing and my growing love for Him increase at the same time.

As you might imagine, I will leave today with mingled feelings.  On the one hand, I am looking forward to all that lies ahead.  On the other, sad to leave the land and the people who have been good to me – including the ever patient game reserve guide who sits and reads while I scribble.

Thank you for your prayers and blessings.  I know they have had an impact, and I look forward to seeing the fruit in the Kingdom.

For the moment, I am going to disappear and savor this last sunrise, celebrating the generosity of the God who causes it to rise upon our lives every day.

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