delicate strip of color

I went for a walk down to the river yesterday. It was a beautiful day... sunny, not too hot. I brought my camera, of course... I was eager to see and capture newness... trees, animals, insects, people, dirt, etc... I had to go with Imkia, a friend here from Holland, because walking alone is not advised. There are dangers. Once down by the river, I began looking for things to photograph. To be honest, I couldnt really find anything too captivating. It takes a certain something, usually very colorful to catch my attention and cause me to pull out my click click. Oh, there was a butterfly, but it was quick... too quick for me. Imkia really wanted to walk across the river via the large rocks growing throughout it... I guess this is a thing here.... something to do. I obliged and as we reached the farthest rock (it truly wasnt that far out, but still provided a moment of activity) Imkia says "there's a butterfly in the water!'" I turn quickly, see it, and think "not on my watch." It was the same delicate strip of color we had seen upon arrival. I repositioned myself so as not to slip off my rock and reached down to grab the struggling, nearly lifeless, delicate strip of color.... yellow!
As a brief side, you should know that when you arrive here in Africa, you are warned that every teeny living thing carries some sort of disease and/or will most definately implant something in your skin the moment you touch it, the thing will grow underneath your - my American skin (implying that the skin is used to a sterile, clean, no risk environment), and will give birth to many teeny things that will live and thrive inside of you.... k, I got an eeny weeny bit dramatic, word is that only a few things do that, and they die quickly with a pill... but still, come on- gross right!
So as I am reaching down into the river water to grab this delicate strip of color... yellow, I am battling those words of death in my mind... save a life, things implanted in skin, save a life, things implanted in skin... so, yeah, mom and dad- I saved the life. Now that the delicate strip of color...yellow, the life is in my hand, it begins to rain... a most beautiful spring rain. Lightly, softly falling drops of African rain- the butterfly, however, is tramatized by these, for as they are sweet and nearly non-existent to us, he is already soaking from a near death drowning, being held in human hands, and is being attacked by huge balls of water- the substance he is most trying to escape. I dashed.... well, I was on wet rocks in the middle of a river, so you can imagine the quickness of my dash, to the side of the river, delicate strip of color, camera, and flip flops in hand. THis is not safe, as while I dash I am also trying to take pictures of this rescued life on this monster hand- it truly is a beautiful contrast! So we make it, I get him under a rock, a rock on top of a rock so he would be safe and I ducked under it too so I could continue taking pictures. NOw this whole time the rain is turning from light, soft summer rain into harder, heavier fall rain and Imkia is standing behind me on a rock with absolutely no shelter. She's awe-some though because she is trying to be in agreement with rescuing and photographing this colorful victim, while at the same time commenting on just how wet it and she are getting. I, am not paying attention, though as I am totally captivated by my patient turned model and want to capture his every move. He turns, I click- opens his wings, click click. Butterfly, delicate strip of color is continuously more traumatized, however, as the winds are picking up and he cannot keep his footing... and I wont leave him alone. Although, out of fairness, I was legitimately concerned for his life. So the rains are falling harder, he seems to be regaining strength, Imkia is really wet, and how many photographs can you take of a teeny delicate strip of color anyway... so I find a less windy, more suitable rock landing for our victim turned patient turned model turned friend and we bust. At this point, it is pouring. The heavy, hard fall rain is now torrential... We are basically swimming home. Up a steep hill which was slippery on the way down when dry, I went barefoot... which to bring you back to the beginning of this ... story, is not smart because when it rains there are worms that comes out of the mud and implant themselves in your skin... literally crawl under your skin... my skin. So once up the hill, flip flops go on, and we head home. We walk, because to run at this point would be like swimming faster in a pool to avoid getting wetter.
It is a beautiful thing, this African rain, but it is wet. I suppose that is most of it's beauty, the soaking wettness of it! I had my camera so many of the same prayer was cried to God- all of which He honored... graciously! The entire way home, Imkia pronounced "this is so much fun!" over and over and over. It was truth, It was fun... The Jesus magic of it is that as soon as we arrived at our gate, the rain stopped and it was dry. So you see, this whole blog blob you just read, wondering all along "why am I reading this nonsense" does have a moral... God has a sense of humor. I have been crying out to him to purify me, to forgive me for my past sins which lead to impurty, to cleanse me, to wash me, to soak me with His Love, with His everything... you see, He did just that! I was literally soaking wet, to my bones, washed clean... and, on top of it, He let me interact in love with one of His soft delicate strips of color... yellow! The same butterfly I saw and longed to experience but which was too quick, was placed quite dependently, beautifully on my very hand. It was a blessed day!
Asante Sana- Thank you very much for going back to the river with me...
love love love