Shortly after arriving in Accra we were told that we would visit the “Arts Center” and market place.  Perhaps it’s my naiveté, but I assumed that the “Arts Center” would be similar to a museum, a place that we could go and look at local art: pictures, sculptures, dress, etc.  Excited I thought of how I could use the time to relax as the students on the trip wandered through the market place.  At this point I didn’t have money, so I wasn’t prepared to purchase anything…plus I knew we would come back before heading to the airport. 

We arrived and piled out of the car.  I lingered behind the students, wanting to make sure that none were left behind.  I found myself walking along with NaNa, a fellow Chemical Engineer, who left his degree and headed straight into ministry after graduation.  I wish I could have bottled up his voice and brought it home with me.  There was something about it…deep, resounding, strong…absolutely beautiful.  I began talking to him about his education and family and his decision to turn from the promise of a lucrative engineering career to pursue full-time ministry with the Ghana Scripture Union.  As we talked, I found myself moving through the market: up and down isles.  Perhaps it was my white skin that gave it away, but the vendors knew I was a tourist, and each one reached out to grab me as I walked by.  Each one yelling out, “hey friend”, “come in”, “I have something for you”.  It was hard to not be distracted and the commotion quickly overwhelmed/drained me. 

Walking through this market, I was still anticipating the beautiful “arts center” that would provide escape from the madness.  NaNa, with his deep voice, began speaking to me about faith…using the analogy of our walk through the market.  He reminded me that we did not know them, but our group trusted the Ghanaian people traveling with us to not lead us astray.  We went up and down the isles, around corners unfamiliar to us, yet we trusted their leading.  As I looked around, hoping to find the art center at the next corner, wishing people would stop grabbing my arm and starting to despise the word “friend”, God began speaking to my heart.  Our group stopped, and I reflected on what God had spoken to me through NaNa.  I must have spaced out because I looked up a moment later to find myself alone in the middle of the market place.  I started running up and down isles, looking for a familiar face.  I wasn’t scared of being alone in a strange place, but I was worried that I would upset someone for running off by myself (even though I didn’t really run off).  I went through the entire market and found no one…after 30 minutes or so I finally found a familiar face.

By the end of this experience I learned 2 very important lessons:  The first is that when one tells you that you’re going to an art center in Ghana...don’t expect the art center to be what your normal inclination might lead you to expect…expect a busy market place where you buy stuff.

The second lesson, the more profound lesson of this experience is this:

Our Spiritual lives and journey are much like that walk through the market.  Often times we start out with certain expectations, thinking we’ll end up somewhere (i.e. my idea of an art center).  Just as we moved through that market trusting our guides, so too we must trust God’s leading and guidance along our journey - trust that he will not lead us astray.  (The trust being an integral aspect of Faith).  All along, we will have people calling out to us, “friend, stop here”, “Friend, don’t go on”, “Friend I have something better for you”, Yet God asks us to continue walking, following Him through the madness that is life, trusting him with a childlike-trust/faith…one that just follows.  Just as when I found myself alone, so too will we wander aimlessly, without focus and direction if we detach ourselves from the Lord…until, that is, we find him again.  And finally, we come to realize that we don’t hold our breath for that moment when we think we’ve arrived, for God is always moving…and it’s not so much the end point (a job, marriage, achieving a certain goal in ministry) that matters, what matters most is the journey itself and how we’ve walked it.

By the end of my experience that day I realized that the market was the art center I had been looking for the entire time.  It didn’t fit my expectations, and so I didn’t recognize it as such, but just as they promised, our Ghanaian friends took us to the art center.  In the same way, as we trust God and follow Him in faith, perhaps we’ll come to realize that the thing we’ve looked and waited for the most is right before our very eyes.  It may not fit our expectations or ideas, but it’s there before us…we’re walking along this path with God…living, breathing, and feeling the very things he’s promised for our lives. 

The hardest thing in my life is to trust God…it’s the hardest thing to do truly and purely…but it’s also the thing I fight for the most.  My life was planned up to the day I left for Africa, and I hoped to have direction by the time I returned.  I’m here to tell you that I know no more, and I know no less.  I have no idea where I’m going and when I’ll get there, but I can’t ignore the overwhelming message of Faith that God has given to me over the last several weeks right up to today…

I am reminded of walking through the market place, not knowing where I am, but trusting that my friends knew the way.  I am reminded of how my life is a continual journey with God.  One that I don’t really know the way, but I trust and move as if God does.  I’m reminded of Abraham, who in Hebrews 11:8 is described as following God in Faith to a place that was promised, even though he had no idea where he was going. 

Do we ever really know where we’re going?  I can’t honestly say that I don’t…and for some reason I’m okay with that right now.