I got on a plane exactly six months ago today- my worldly belongings sold, stored, or stowed as cargo joining me on the journey to my arrival first in Nairobi, Kenya, then to Kijabe, my new home. It’s been a hard six months. It’s been a good six months. Today as I came across two cows on a hike, the imagery of this passage in Genesis 41 filled my mind in a new way:

“When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.”

Cows are common here in Kenya- they were back in Michigan too- but there, they were all the same breed, housed in nice neat buildings with corn feed abundant, beautiful rolling fields of green pasture, or in large farms with well oiled milking routines. Here, they are commonly staked in the medians- or herded alongside the roads.

When we got to our hiking destination- the train station- the presence of cows was no surprise. What was however, was the contrast of this fat (well- very pregnant) and this lean cow:

As I think back over the last six months, the contrast of the cows feels like a contrast of my days. There are some days where I see God’s goodness full and abundant, ready to give birth to new life. There are other days where God’s presence feels lean, withering away to nothing leaving me bony and wanting. As I stood in the middle of the railroad tracks, the fat cow to my left, the skinny cow to my right, the thought of the skinny cow eating up the fat cow seemed like such a ridiculous notion, I actually laughed out loud! However, when I compare the cows to my days, the comparison seems less ridiculous.

If I’m not careful to turn to the Lord and ask him for a reminder of who He is on skinny cow days, even the good days seem non-existent, swallowed up but the hard days with no evidence that the days full of God’s goodness ever happened. But, God IS good. He provides the food we need in His word, the bread of life, to feast on- the only thing that can fill the skinny cow and bring meat, meaning, and purpose back to the bones of the hard days.

With the students off campus for the past few weeks, I’ve had more skinny cow days than I expected to find in my well anticipated break. The skinny cow days look here to stay for a while as we navigate high COVID rates in our community, the vast majority of students return to campus delayed, and online learning. I thought I’ve learned this before- but alas, how easily I forget to turn to the bread of life on days like these. It’s been hard learning new online platforms in this new school, and realizing I didn’t save previously recorded video lectures tied to my now closed email storage from my past school.

It’s easy to forget all of the fat cow days the Lord graciously gifted me in the first term with students here. Even as I forget, He shows me that not all fat cows look the same. This week, I played soccer with the few students who are here on campus- not something I would have time to do if I weren’t teaching online. Another fat cow? The three hour hike in 75 degree weather, a sunburn on my shoulders reminding me of the blessing this weather is in January.

Even as things are already looking different at the beginning of this second six months here, I’m thankful for so many of the things that are known that weren’t just six months ago:

• My house!
• My neighbors
• My coworkers
• My students
• My classroom… just to name a few!

I look forward to the next six months and the growth they will bring, learning to remember the fat cow days when all I see are skinny cows, and thanking the Lord for his faithful presence every step of the way.

Prayer Points

• Please pray for our leadership RVA, that the Lord will grant them continual wisdom as they have been and are continuing to make difficult decisions.
• Please pray for our students as they walk in flexibility of online learning, also for safety from COVID, and negative tests for our hundreds of students who will be travelling in the next few weeks.
• Please pray for our staff as many recover from COVID themselves, navigate ever changing scenarios, and balance caring for our students well, both the few already on campus and those learning remotely.
• Please pray for me as I’m feeling the wear of six months in a new place in many ways, even as I learn new ways to teach online well.