Have I Been Wrong All Along?

Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help,

 and brave enough to ask for it. 

Ziad K. Abdelnour

President Obama has arrived!  The local news is reporting that two-thirds of Kenya's security forces have been taken to Nairobi to protect "the most powerful man alive." People are flocking to the big city to get a glimpse of their hero as he returns to his ancestral homeland.  And those who can't go are doing their best to stay fully informed. On a walk around our compound yesterday, I was tickled to find our three security guards huddled around a radio listening to the Star Spangled Banner as the announcer reported every detail of the President's arrival.

Maasai men watching Obama's arrival on TV

I've also noticed that rumors are everywhere.  "Why are the market shelves empty?"   "Obama's security personnel have stopped shipments."  "Why haven't we had internet this week?"  "Obama's security detail has blocked it." "The crops are dry, where is the rain?" " The nation has been praying for dry weather for Obama's visit."

But while everyone's attention seems to be on the American President, I do have to admit that mine has not.  My attention has been on the women with whom I have the privilege of serving at Territorial Headquarters.  Three of the ladies in my department are ill -- one with typhoid, another with malaria, and a third with pneumonia. In fact, a fourth is on bed rest with a blood clot in her leg.  I have been praying hard that they will all get appropriate medical care.

At the same time, one of my expatriate friends recently woke up to find that her husband had died during the night, leaving her with young children to raise.  She is a successful, independent business woman, but now she finds herself desperate for the support of a faith community.

During my prayer time for these women, the Lord brought 1 Corinthians 12:21 to mind:

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” 

And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you."  

Suddenly I realized that for years I have been striving to empower the women in my ministry to be independent agents, relying solely upon God.  Have I been wrong?

Dedicating the community well in Sabatia

Perhaps I should have been encouraging them simply to do their part, and then to let others do theirs.  After all, even the most powerful man in the world needs help. Interdependence is what we really need.  We need a healthy, reciprocal relationship in which parties are mutually influenced by, supported by, and helped by one another.  We need to trust and rely on each other's unique contributions.  That is why God has given each one a gift that can benefit the entire Body of Christ.

So maybe independence is overrated.  After all, being interdependent takes a lot more guts.  It takes trust, faith, and courage to lean on someone else.  And it takes the strength to hold them up as well.