The Circle of Life

I enjoy watching The Lion King. The music is nostalgic, bringing me back to my childhood. I especially love listening to the opening song. However, the past two weeks sobered me to the reality of the words of that song. The circle of life... moves us all through despair and hope.

"In the twenty minutes it took me to walk you home on Friday," Mama A told me when I arrived on Monday, "my neighbor passed away."

My smile turned to a frown, sadness filling my heart. He had been sick for weeks. As I sat there, his adorable little daughter came to greet me as always. "My daddy's sick," she said. She told me this every time she saw me. This time it broke my heart. Had no one told her he had died? Had she not understood?

Lost for words, I opened my crochet bag and saw that I had enough pink yarn in it to make a hat for her. I started right away. It wasn't much, but it made me feel like I was doing something for her.

"What are you making?" she asked me.

"I'm making a hat for you," I replied. A huge smile lit up her face. She jumped up and down for joy, her deep brown eyes sparkling. "But I won't be able to finish it today," I continued, "I'll bring it back when it's done." She nodded and went off to play.

"Her dad never went to church or knew God's Word," Mama A commented. 

A wave of despair washed over me. If he hadn't put his faith in Jesus, he was lost for all eternity. I turned the conversation to the gift of eternal life found in Jesus. A guaranteed promise for all who believe in Him. Mama A humored me but didn't seem interested. Despair clung to me for several days. If nothing changed, she would be lost forever as well.

I finished the little girl's hat and brought it to her this week. She squealed in delight, touching it, and showing it to her friends. I asked if I could take a picture of her. She agreed, but couldn't contain her joy to hold still for long.

She went running around the corner to her own house to show her mom. A minute later her mom came around the corner, dressed in a black capulana, a black top, and a black headscarf. She thought her little daughter had taken the hat from someone else. I told her it was a gift. Her faint smile seemed to lift part of the burden weighing on her shoulders.

"There's a new baby at her house," Mama A informed me as if that naturally fit into the conversation.

Surprised, I went to go see. A bundle of cuteness lay on the foam mattress inside the house. The little girl came bouncing in, sporting her pink hat. "Are you going to make the baby a hat too?" she asked me.

What a great idea! I thought. I had enough leftover yarn to make a tiny hat for the newborn. The sleeping baby shifted her small, soft hand and puckered her little lips as I crocheted. Hope seemed to be pushing back the grief draping the house through the life radiating from this newborn. Finally finishing the hat, I helped place it on the baby's head. The mother beamed and thanked me.

My heart felt lifted as I walked home. Death is inevitable in this world, but there is also life. More than that, Jesus offers eternal life to all who will believe in Him and that is why I'm in Mozambique.