MollyMadonna.com

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in the beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…
There are some things in life that delight me in the most beautiful way, and this past weekend was undeniably one of them. Since moving here, we have filled up our Fridays and Saturdays with a various array of activities. Some weekends are booked up with plans, and others are low-key, cleaning and errand running kind of experiences. On Thursday night this past week, Jason and I were having dinner and chatting about the upcoming days off. We realized that with no plans and no obligations pending, we were free to consider a variety of options…
A while back, we purchased a “Wild Card,” or season pass, that gives us entrance to all of South Africa’s national parks. It’s been a while since we visited Kruger National Park (and we’re both completely enthralled with the atmosphere and wildlife there), so we decided on that we would pack up and leave early on Friday morning for a trip to Mpumalanga Province. In the process of planning our time away, it occurred to me that my good friend Megan had recently traveled back to SA, and that she and her husband (who live about 45 minutes from the park), might be available to join us or at least grab coffee or dinner while we were out near their home in White River. We called, and within the hour, we’d made plans to meet Megan and Gavin in Nelspruit, to join them for a day of swimming and visiting, to stay the night at their place, and to depart for Kruger early Saturday morning for a day of adventure in the park. The weekend was shaping up quite splendidly, and it had only just begun.
After a leisurely drive out of the city and into the hills and mountains of Mpumalanga, we met up with Megan and Gavin to travel to White River. When we arrived, we packed a picnic lunch, changed into swimsuits (or costumes, as they call them here), and piled into our car for a drive to the “pool”. We drove for about 45 minutes along the most refreshing rural roads, and all the while I was gearing up for an afternoon on the pool deck. At one point, Gavin told us to “take the next right,” and then instructed Jason to “pull over under that tree” alongside the road. From there, we hiked a few kilometers down into a field and around a rocky, forest-y bit of land.  The path grew narrow, the incline steep, and before long, we were navigating through branches and rock formations until we reached our destination: one of the most glorious places I’ve ever visited. The “pool” we’d all been referring to turned out to be an incredible waterfall, completely ensconced by a verdant, rocky paradise that looked to me like something straight out of heaven. We set up our picnic lunch on the waterfall, then spent the afternoon swimming in the temperate, clear water below. There were moments that afternoon where I looked around me and could hardly believe that it was all so tangible and real. I couldn’t have envisioned a more wonderful way to spend the day!
After our hike back up to the car, another sunny drive home and some well-spent time over afternoon tea on the veranda, we all got ready for dinner and headed into town. Megan and Gavin introduced us to a great little pizza place where we all enjoyed company and conversation over a meal on the outdoor patio. The night sky lit up with countless stars, and as I looked around me over dinner that night, I realized that in the moment, there were few other places I’d rather be. We stayed up for a while after getting back from dinner, enjoyed more tea and cookies over wedding photos (Megan and Gavin were married 6 days after Jason and I, but we’ve seen each other so little since then) and then headed to bed for an early wake up the next morning.
In the am, Megan got up early to get us breakfast before we left for our day in Kruger. We were on our way by 5:45, and we headed East through more incredible landscape (and a brilliant sunrise) until we reached the entrance to the park at the Numbi Gate. By 6:45 we’d begun our safari–the first that we’ve taken just the two of us. It was so much fun to drive back through the roads that have become familiar, to “hunt” for animals and snap photos left and right as we joked and laughed together for hours. Driving through Kruger for an entire day is nothing like taking a 12 hour road trip through the country. Instead, it feels like an expedition–a great adventure where you never know what you’ll come upon next. We were fortunate to view lions, hippo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, African buffalo, crocodiles, baboons, monkeys, impala, numerous birds, warthogs, turtles, spotted hyena and an unbelievable number of elephants. It was extraordinarily hot in the park, and the sun blessed us all day long. By the time we left the park around 4:30pm, we were both tired, but grateful. Kruger proved to be another amazing experience, and we’d had so much fun with Megan and Gavin.
As I fell asleep on Saturday night, I was thinking about all of the ways that God had spoken to me throughout the weekend and realized once again that there is no limit to the majesty of God’s creation. Every little detail–from the graceful waterfall in Sabie and the blanket of stars that night to the curve of a zebra’s stripes and the puzzle-pieced neck of a lanky giraffe–everything was intentionally and carefully hand crafted by God. At the mercy of our maker, we spent Friday and Saturday absorbing every perfect and intricate design in our path, and it was delightful.
I am humbled to have been created by the same God who brought all of the heavens and the earth into being–to have been planned out so attentively, so deliberately. The weekend has come and gone, and I am left, struck by the love and creativity of our Father.

…then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good…and God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation…

This post was originally blogged on 11 March 2008 @ 1:30pm from Johannesburg, South Africa

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surreal-ity

I have been anticipating today for several months now–so much so, in fact, that last night felt more like Christmas Eve than the real Christmas Eve has felt in years. I stayed up late, finally reading myself to sleep not long before 3am. When the alarm gave notice of this new day dawning at 6:30, I was up and running shortly after. I didn’t want to risk a choice spot in the mix at terminal 1, international arrivals (the people-watching mecca of our time), so I pestered Jason to get us there extra early “just in case,” and we waited and waited until two lovely and familiar faces rounded the corner, fresh out of customs. My sister, Bridget, and her friend, Cheryl, have come to join us in Africa for the next two weeks. And as we near the half way point of our year here in SA, the timing of this visit could not be more perfect…
Seeing “Boo,” as I affectionately call her, marks a first in seven months–the longest I’ve ever gone without spending time with my sister. For some, I know that seven months would seem like a blip on the screen, a natural passing of time. But for me, seven months of no sister time has felt like an eternity, and now she is finally here.
In some way, the airport pick-up, the drive home, the settling in all felt natural. (This of course, has become our routine with each visitor who journeys to Africa.) Even the unpacking of suitcases, lunch in our bedroom–none of it felt anything but normal to me. Somehow, though, normal evaporated and raised the bar on its way out when we arrived and began to register genvox children in Katlehong this afternoon. Bridget and Cheryl, tired beyond tired from their travels and layovers, sat down to meet the newest faces of generationvox. Fresh off the airplane and just barely getting their bearings on African soil, the girls collected information on child after child, and while they did so, I watched as two worlds–two very different worlds to me, collided.
The result of this intersection I’ve never had the privilege of coming to before was something incredibly beautiful. Two parts of me–one, Bridget, the other, Africa, melted together for a few moments into something so fulfilling that I can’t put words around it. Because of this, I’m sitting here, long after the girls have gone to bed and on the cusp of another new day beginning. Looking to tomorrow (and the next day and the next), I can’t imagine the memories we’ll have created in just two weeks time, this season of our lives one I know will be etched in my heart forever. If there is surreality for me, this is it. This feeling of unspeakable blessing, of ministry hand in hand, of nurturing each other, of nurturing ourselves. My sister has come a long way to Africa, and today, home feels right at hand. Home. In Africa. Surreality becoming reality overnight.


This post was originally blogged on 14 Dec 2007 @ 12:23am from Johannesburg, South Africa

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things i’m grateful for today…

Constant sunshine. Spring (it’s coming here in SA–you can feel it!). The laughter of little ones. Gwanele’s smile. Safe travels. A chai tea latte at M&B. Emails from home. Hot dinner on the table. Photos of loved ones, favorite places, good memories. Gary Soto. Poetry. Good friends who remind you to bring your poetry with you half way around the world. Stars. Warm blankets. God’s sovereignty. Prayer. A good book. Fresh sheets. Shoes on my feet. Wisdom. Clean water. Magnetic alphabets. Roasted marshmallows. My health. Crayons. Grace…

This post was originally blogged on 21 August 2007 @ 10:07pm from Johannesburg, South Africa

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thoughts on a thursday night

i’m sitting here at the end of this long day, at the almost-end of a long week, and as tired as i am, all i want to do is write. it’s all i’ve wanted to do for the past six days, and it’s not because i have something brilliant to say or anyone to really even say it to. i just don’t want to look back fifty years from now and not remember where i was at 27. where i was on this day, in this week, in this month, of this year. so here i am. and these are the things i keep wanting to remember and hoping i won’t forget before it’s too late and i haven’t written them down.

1. our six month old lab puppy, full of energy at 11:30pm, just ran into the office to get his favorite, red squeaky toy. it’s called a “wubba.” don’t know why i think that’s so funny, but i do. “wubba.” you can’t help but smile to yourself as you say it. at any rate, he ran to get this toy, but that’s not what got my attention. before he ran to get his wubba, he was playing with a little green plastic fish with gigantic red, kissy-faced lips. i bought it in the 1 spot at target a few months ago. it used to squeak, and it used to be kruger’s favorite toy. now, he gets tired of it and ususally leaves it laying around the house somewhere in favor of the still obnoxiously squeaky wubba. tonight though, instead of leaving the fish for dead and finding another playmate, kruger took the fish with him into the office and PUT IT BACK where his toys go before picking up a new one.

seriously.

my dog just put his toy away. either he’s picked up on my neurotic behavior and adopted it as his own, or he figured out that if he puts his things back in the same place, he’ll actually be able to find them again. it occurs to me that neither of the above options might be the real reason the fish ended up back in the toy stash, but really. does anyone else think that’s just kind of..at least a little…AMAZING? i can’t help it. i’m smitten with him. at least for the next ten minutes or until he eats another sock, or tries to escape me when i attempt to put him in his crate for the night. if nothing else, i have written proof that for a brief moment tonight, i thought that kruger was just about the best darn little pup in the world.

2. i was reminded again tonight that there’s really nothing better than spending an evening with your best girlfriends, chatting about life and taking yourself a little less seriously–if only for a moment. there’s no replacing your best friends. there’s just not. who else will help you polish off an embarrassing quantity of tortilla chips and salsa at dinner, split dessert with you over coffee, then shop with you for girly unmentionables and understand that the little pink bags you’re taking home will make you feel beautiful and enticing and new all at once? who else will listen as you ramble on about life on the way home, as you laugh so hard it might hurt? who else is so accustomed to you–and you to them, that ups and downs and stories and tears and anguish and joy and fear and prayers all flow in and out of one another without reservation, hesitation, or regret? i’m so grateful for deep, unconditional friendship. so, so grateful for an evening with two of the most glorious, life-giving women i know.

3. today is august 13th. well, 14th really, by now. i ran my first half marathon twelve days ago. twelve. i haven’t written about it yet. i keep wanting to, while it’s all still fresh in my memory. but i feel like it deserves a post of its own. a tipping of my proverbial hat. an acknowledgement somehow bigger than a mention in my just barely stirring blog. i. ran. my. first. half. marathon. twelve. days. ago. i did it. I DID IT!!!! and honestly, the whole experience has changed my life. i never want to forget that. i’d better get writing. there’s so much of a story to tell. and that’s because it’s not just about 13.1 miles on a summery sunday morning in chicago. as i’ve discovered in recent days, it never really was.

4. this is the end of the road for this post. i know. i was serious about the whole, “post of it’s own” bit. stay tuned if you’re out there, and if you’re not–well, let’s be honest. this blog entry was more for my soul than anything else. but if it touches yours in some way, that’s just the most delightful icing on a most delightful cake! i’ll be here. right back here. and soon.  m

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a little self-challenge

It’s been far too long since I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as the case may be). In an effort to charge up my creative juices and to challenge myself towards a more fulfilling state of being, I’m kicking my blogging efforts back into gear. If you find me here, it’s because you’ve searched or unwittingly happened upon me–I’ll save the invitations for later when the juices are flowing again. In the meantime, please bear with me (just as I’m bearing with me) through this season of “training,” with the hopes that someday soon I’ll be back in full swing and blogging to my little heart’s content.

Blessings, as always,

molly