{"id":6161,"date":"2016-04-21T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T15:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=6161"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:46:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:46:27","slug":"ugandan-faith-lesson-4-thank-god-for-every-journey-mercy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2016\/04\/21\/ugandan-faith-lesson-4-thank-god-for-every-journey-mercy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ugandan faith lesson #4: thank God for every “journey mercy”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faith lessons from my Ugandan family<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Editor\u2019s note:<\/em><\/strong> This is the fourth blog post in a five-part series \u201cFaith lessons from my Ugandan family\u201d \u00a0by <\/em>Messy Jesus Business guest contributor\/Rabble Rouser Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/a> about her experiences in Mbale, Uganda (read lessons #1<\/a>, #2<\/a> and #3<\/a>). Tune in tomorrow to experience the final installment of Nicole\u2019s faith lessons from Africa.<\/em><\/p>\n

My husband and I almost canceled our trip to Uganda two weeks before our scheduled departure.<\/p>\n

\"Ethiopian
Courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had just found out the country\u2019s presidential elections would be happening the day after we arrived (the date of which\u00a0had not been determined when we bought our tickets the previous year). My own knowledge of the political situation in Uganda, combined with a few hasty Google searches, left me fearful that we might be entering a hornet\u2019s nest of political protests and police showdowns\u2014a risk which might have thrilled me 10 years ago, but which I could not stomach as the mother of two young children.<\/p>\n

After reaching out to people I trust in Uganda (including, of course, my host family) and a great deal of prayer for discernment, my husband and I decided that canceling our trip would be bending to fears of unlikely \u201cwhat-ifs\u201d rather than reasonable concerns for our physical safety. Together, we resolved to do something which doesn\u2019t come easily to those of us accustomed to feeling in control of our circumstances: to take a deep breath and trust in God\u2019s protection<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The catch, of course, is that none of us is ever<\/em> in control of our circumstances, and we are always<\/em> in need of God\u2019s protection. We just don\u2019t have to confront that reality nearly as often in the United States as in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n

In Uganda, death is never far.<\/p>\n

It is a country which\u2014just within my lifetime\u2014was enmeshed in a brutal civil war, was hit early and hard by the AIDS epidemic, was the site of the world\u2019s worst neglected humanitarian crisis<\/a>, and which is still among the poorest nations in the world. Even Ugandans living in relative security, like my host family, are aware that merely driving from one city to another can be perilous given the frighteningly high incidence of traffic fatalities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"matatu
matatu (Ugandan taxi), courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My Ugandan family does not take their safety for granted.<\/p>\n

Every evening during family prayer<\/a>, they thank God for the \u201cjourney mercies\u201d which have delivered them safely home. Their prayers of thanksgiving for these journey mercies are specific and elaborate, without being morose. For them, there is no fatalism or despondence in acknowledging that their lives are entirely in God\u2019s hands \u2026 only profound trust and gratitude.<\/p>\n

I do not<\/em> wish for the dangers of life in Uganda; there is nothing quaint or charming about the fact that the life expectancy of a Ugandan is a full 25 years shorter than my own<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Ugandan
Courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But none of us is getting out of this world alive. My husband and I know, on an intellectual level, that we are not guaranteed to come home tomorrow. We could easily be struck down by a car accident, or a madman, or a disease \u2026\u00a0 So why does it feel disempowering or pessimistic to admit it?<\/p>\n

Why do we let the illusion that we are \u201cin control\u201d fool us into thinking we have anyone but God to thank for delivering us safely through the day?<\/p>\n

For reflection:\u00a0<\/strong>How can we who live a comfortable existence identify and express gratitude for the \u201cjourney mercies\u201d of everyday life?<\/p>\n

Author bio:<\/strong> Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/a> is a friend of Sister Julia\u2019s who writes from the Seattle, Washington area. She spent three months living and volunteering in Mbale, Uganda in 2006, and recently returned there with her husband to visit her host family and friends. She lacks the courage to drive a car in Uganda.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Faith lessons from my Ugandan family Editor\u2019s note: This is the fourth blog post in a five-part series \u201cFaith lessons from my Ugandan family\u201d \u00a0by Messy Jesus Business guest contributor\/Rabble Rouser Nicole Steele Wooldridge about her experiences in Mbale, Uganda (read lessons #1, #2 and #3). Tune in tomorrow to experience the final installment of...","protected":false},"author":51099403,"featured_media":6149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[698755598,115341],"tags":[214,8437,31174,864930,401,2775957,7816,5411,255721,26271,124,853,24733,14812,4280703,7921103,4510],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-6161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-family-life","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-christianity","tag-death","tag-elections","tag-expectancy","tag-faith","tag-family-prayer","tag-god","tag-gratitude","tag-humanitarian-crisis","tag-journey","tag-life","tag-prayer","tag-protection","tag-safety","tag-traffic-fatalities","tag-travel-god","tag-uganda","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/ethiopian-airline.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

Ugandan faith lesson #4: thank God for every “journey mercy”<\/a><\/blockquote>