Sara from A to Z - ZamNews!

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to participate in a Triathlon. Those who know me might find this very surprising since I don’t swim, cycle, or run on a regular basis, and even on the rare occasions that I do, it is not with any enthusiasm. This dream was inspired by growing up watching my young aunts and uncles (because I am not so much younger than them!) participate in these exciting events.
    When I heard that the American School here in Lusaka was hosting a triathlon, I thought “This is my year! I can finally do this thing!” But alas, I will not be joining my roommates in this venture. Instead, I am “training” for a decathlon of an academic nature. While they are are swimming laps and pounding the pavement, I will be preparing for my dreaded Final Exams, the results of which determine my future and the future of so many of my friends, in Zambia Law. These ten monsters are designed not just to test my practical knowledge in various areas of law, but my ability to communicate with conciseness and clarity, to “think outside of the box” but not too far outside the box, to manage my time, to write legibly, and above all - to keep my sanity under tremendous pressure.
     While I may not have as much riding on these exams as many of my classmates, they do represent the gateway through which I will enter the next chapter of my life. I have always been a girl with a long term plan. This “one step at a time” business is new for me! Is not knowing exactly what I am going to be doing for the next few years restfulness or just plain reckless?
    I had a great talk recently with a doctor who a decade ago had a vision to start a mission which would fly surgeons into rural areas around Southern Africa to provide life-saving treatment to those who otherwise would have no access. It seemed to him that each time he took a step in that direction, God would go quiet.  
    He really struggled, wondering what was next and whether he would ever achieve his goal. And then he realized, it wasn’t that God had gone silent - He had already told him everything he needed to know to take that one step. When the time came, God always revealed what to do next. (He now operates MercyFlight here in Zambia and is still trusting God each step of the way!)
    This testimony was so encouraging to me! I realized even if I didn’t know exactly what all this next year would hold and how everything “would go down”, I knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing right now - take these exams! As tempting as it is to worry about the future, I don’t have to wonder about the present.
    I Corinthian 9:24-27 says: “...Run in such a way that you may obtain [the prize]. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath (or robe and wig?) but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly...But I discipline by body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
    As my exams quickly approach,  [March 29-April 13] I am aware more than ever that I have not always “disciplined my body and kept it under control”. Exams always bring to mind the hundred little things you should have done to be more prepared. And so I need your prayers that I will “run with endurance the race that is set before me” (Hebrews 12:1) and that I will remember that I am not running aimlessly but towards a future what only God happens to know about yet.
    And who knows? Maybe next year I will get to trade my statutes, blue pens, and writing paper in for a swimsuit, bicycle, and running shoes.