In Between Moments and Memories

He was half monkey the way he climbed up the ladder to the abandoned water tower, a small detour on our way home after an evening bike ride through our village neighborhood. The sun was setting and the view was supposed to be beautiful and besides he wanted to do it. When language is a barrier, it's in those sign language spur-of-the moments that you just act, wanting to do something, anything. He reached the top before I even started. I knew that with each step up would mean one step down. But hearing his voice resounding with such excitement, and the memories that I foresaw, I kept going. I let out a scream, wiped my sweaty palms against my jeans, and with each bare foot sweaty step I took, I focused on one arm over and one arm under the small metal ladder, which got skinner the higher I got. Without warning, moments can forever beautifully impact the heart.  Gently, the never before spoken about prayers that are hidden deep within the soul, lovingly embrace the invading beauty of each instant. Grasping, to forever hold onto these moments, time propels into the unknown, leaving behind fragments of emotion, that are felt, somewhere in between these moments and their memories. It is in the un-named in between, that a soul may intertwine with an un-describable familiarity. An extension of oneself, as if it was already there, and time was keeping it prisoner until the perfect moment for it to be free to be felt by the heart. The view left me breathless and my thoughts at peace, wanting to hold onto this moment. Wanting to hold onto him pointing things out, the smiles, the laughs, and the silences. At last, we spoke the same language. The brilliant-green Cambodian countryside somehow seemed familiar. He seemed familiar. As if my love for both was just a matter of timing. Like it had been there all along, waiting patiently for me. Unable to be hurried. Unable to be humanly created. A beautiful orchastrating of a pre-designed plan (Psalm 139:16). It was this moment and a dozen others that led me back to Cambodia. That led me back to the children at A Greater Hope Orphanage. That led me back to Samrang, Long, Nop, Wut, and  Darow. That led me back to the need for better education in this country, and to help with A Heart For Wisdom School. To experience more of what happens when you spend your life on behalf of a child. "I want to see miracles, to see the world change...[Life's] more than a feeling, more than a cause."~Switchfoot; For life is but a moment (Psalm 39:5).  Add Comment