We took the interns on safari a few days ago. The first one this year (so they were pretty excited!). We had a great time just getting to connect with them outside of their usual ministry schedule... We saw some amazing animals (rhino, giraffe, and hippo being some of them), but everyone really wanted to see elephants.
We spent two-and-a-half hours looking for them, to no avail. It was early in the morning, and it was frigid (even moreso on the open truck, with the wind in our faces). We started off pretty confident that we'd see the elephants. We were excited. The cold didn't bother us. The early hour didn't stop us. We were gung-ho. Then the minutes started to pass. We drove and drove and drove and drove, and not only did we not see elephants, but we didn't see much of anything at all. We were stopping for poop. Sad when the closest you can get to the creatures is what they leave behind...
After two hours, I'd given up. I'd stopped looking around and simply did my darnedest to stay as warm as I possibly could (by using one of my jackets as a blanket and cuddling with the person next to me). I was just ready to get back to the main complex and have breakfast. Get off the truck and out of the cold wind. I was done.
And then we found them.
As we came around a bend in the road, our driver spotted an elephant off in the distance. We bundu-bashed our way through the brush and, next thing you know, we were surrounded by elephants. There were maybe a dozen of them. The three-month old baby was hiding behind
her mommy just feet away from us and one of the large females thought it would be fun to break the side mirror off of the truck. They were that close.
And to think I'd given up!
It makes me think about my life, my dreams and hopes and desires. How many things have I given up on just moments too soon? Just moments before I'd have been surrounded by that which I was waiting for?
Hold on. Hang in there. What you're waiting for may be right around the next bend.
