on the trail as they started walking again. A dung beetle with his prize wandered along beside them. At least she had nothing to fear from him. “You must think I’m a complete wimp.”
Chad chuckled at her statement. “Hardly. Even I have to admit I’d rather be sitting over a nice steak dinner in the capital than walking through the bush completely vulnerable.”
Vulnerable…helpless…defenseless…She hated feeling this way.
She looked up at the sky, where half a dozen vultures circled in a slow, methodical pattern. “At least I’m not the only one ready to get out of here.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Chad caught her gaze and threw her a broad grin. “None of us were expecting a tromp through the African bush today.”
Or having her back window shattered or her house ransacked or surviving a plane crash in the middle of nowhere. Still, she couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous their situation seemed. It was as if she’d landed on some TV reality show and the cameras wouldn’t stop rolling.
Natalie watched as Joseph made his way along the leaf-strewnpath—which had probably been formed over a period of time by hippos or some other large predator—in front of them. He walked slowly, seemingly absorbed with the smells, sounds, and changing colors of the environment around him. The boy might not be a professional guide, but years of living in the mountains of Dhambizao had obviously taught him to recognize certain variances in the landscape that someone like her would never see.
A monkey swung across a branch above her, chattering as it dropped bits of dirt and leaves onto her head. Irritated, she shook away the fallen debris and matched her steps with Chad’s. “Back at the airport, Joseph asked me if I believed prayer really worked. He’s not sure there’s a God big enough to save his family.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Some clichéd answer about how God never intended things to be this way and that man’s sin corrupted God’s original plan.” The day’s events flickered frame after frame like a PowerPoint presentation in her mind. “It makes sense when you’re sitting on a church pew, but perspectives change when life rips everything away from you.”
“Simple answers aren’t always wrong, though I know what you mean.” Chad shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “It’s difficult to understand how so much evil and suffering could exist in a world created by a good God.”
“Exactly.” Natalie hesitated. She feared to ask the nagging question out loud: why did His promise to work everything together for good often seem to fall short?
Chad kicked a dead branch aside without losing stride. “The one thing I have noticed is how I tend to cry out to God only when things go wrong. One of those paradoxes that doesn’t always make sense.”
“Like growth through suffering or refinement through the fire?”
“Exactly.”
The thought made her look at her own life. She’d seen how her own fairly easy existence had made her depend more on what she could do instead of what God wanted to do in her life. And that thosewho walked through the fire and found God faithful seemed to be the ones who stood firm in who He was no matter what.
Joseph stopped in front of them, interrupting her train of thought.
Nick tugged on the rim of his baseball cap. “What is it?”
Pressing his fingers against his mouth, Joseph bent down to study the ground. Natalie stepped forward to see what he was looking at.
“Lion tracks.” Joseph crouched and stared straight ahead. “They are fresh.”
Natalie glanced up again at the vultures she’d seen earlier. A knot swelled in her throat.
Joseph pointed through the tall grass. Barely discernible was a male lion. “There was a kill.”
The lion’s brown mane ruffled in the breeze as he ripped at the carcass of an impala.
“For now he will eat.” Joseph signaled ahead. “We must walk quietly and not run.”
Natalie held her
Chad chuckled at her statement. “Hardly. Even I have to admit I’d rather be sitting over a nice steak dinner in the capital than walking through the bush completely vulnerable.”
Vulnerable…helpless…defenseless…She hated feeling this way.
She looked up at the sky, where half a dozen vultures circled in a slow, methodical pattern. “At least I’m not the only one ready to get out of here.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Chad caught her gaze and threw her a broad grin. “None of us were expecting a tromp through the African bush today.”
Or having her back window shattered or her house ransacked or surviving a plane crash in the middle of nowhere. Still, she couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous their situation seemed. It was as if she’d landed on some TV reality show and the cameras wouldn’t stop rolling.
Natalie watched as Joseph made his way along the leaf-strewnpath—which had probably been formed over a period of time by hippos or some other large predator—in front of them. He walked slowly, seemingly absorbed with the smells, sounds, and changing colors of the environment around him. The boy might not be a professional guide, but years of living in the mountains of Dhambizao had obviously taught him to recognize certain variances in the landscape that someone like her would never see.
A monkey swung across a branch above her, chattering as it dropped bits of dirt and leaves onto her head. Irritated, she shook away the fallen debris and matched her steps with Chad’s. “Back at the airport, Joseph asked me if I believed prayer really worked. He’s not sure there’s a God big enough to save his family.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Some clichéd answer about how God never intended things to be this way and that man’s sin corrupted God’s original plan.” The day’s events flickered frame after frame like a PowerPoint presentation in her mind. “It makes sense when you’re sitting on a church pew, but perspectives change when life rips everything away from you.”
“Simple answers aren’t always wrong, though I know what you mean.” Chad shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “It’s difficult to understand how so much evil and suffering could exist in a world created by a good God.”
“Exactly.” Natalie hesitated. She feared to ask the nagging question out loud: why did His promise to work everything together for good often seem to fall short?
Chad kicked a dead branch aside without losing stride. “The one thing I have noticed is how I tend to cry out to God only when things go wrong. One of those paradoxes that doesn’t always make sense.”
“Like growth through suffering or refinement through the fire?”
“Exactly.”
The thought made her look at her own life. She’d seen how her own fairly easy existence had made her depend more on what she could do instead of what God wanted to do in her life. And that thosewho walked through the fire and found God faithful seemed to be the ones who stood firm in who He was no matter what.
Joseph stopped in front of them, interrupting her train of thought.
Nick tugged on the rim of his baseball cap. “What is it?”
Pressing his fingers against his mouth, Joseph bent down to study the ground. Natalie stepped forward to see what he was looking at.
“Lion tracks.” Joseph crouched and stared straight ahead. “They are fresh.”
Natalie glanced up again at the vultures she’d seen earlier. A knot swelled in her throat.
Joseph pointed through the tall grass. Barely discernible was a male lion. “There was a kill.”
The lion’s brown mane ruffled in the breeze as he ripped at the carcass of an impala.
“For now he will eat.” Joseph signaled ahead. “We must walk quietly and not run.”
Natalie held her