Staying in Potchefstroom, I’ve learned some words in Afrikaans through living with over 30 South Africans.
One of the most important words I’ve learned?
Braai– [BR-EYE] What is it? Well, it’s a kind of gathering in which people grill meat. Or just cooking the meat itself, or just talking about the grill. They’re not picky with terminology. This is VERY big in South African culture.
Other words include:
Dromer– [DRO-MER] I was introduced to this word through an event. Dromer Market. It was a specific Christian-supported market that happened this past Saturday. Honestly, one of the best unplanned things that I’ve done since moving here.
And
Lekker– [LEK-KER] they use this word all the time. One of the most versatile Afrikan words I’ve heard. It can mean good, or fun, or even tasty. So Braai and Lekker are pretty much synonyms.
Here’s a sample sentence to put it all together.
I had the most lekker Braai for the first time at this farmer’s market I went to. Afterwards, someone invited me to join them at another market, called Dromer Market, and I was like- lekker. I continued the day by playing a lekker question game with some girls, and ended the day with a mini dance party on the grass with a tiny speaker and some lekker friends.
My day was full to bursting, in the best of ways.
Speaking of full, this past week was stocked full of little nuggets from heaven. We focused on healing for the first part of the week. With us practicing this thing called Inner Healing. Sounds cheesy, but it’s just a way for the Lord to work through trauma or hurt that is in your life.
They used this framework of a fire to help visualize it. Now there are three parts to a fire. Smoke, Fire, and Wood.
Smoke is what they call a reaction that you’ve had in the past two weeks in which you either overreacted or underreacted to something that happened. Example: Someone yelled at you, and you felt numb, or someone said something that triggered you in an unexpected way.]
There’s always a reason that happens, just most of the time we don’t want to dig deeper. That all changes when Jesus enters the equation. It’s not so scary then.
So the next step is the fire, which refers to the original event that caused a major feeling that shaped you. It doesn’t always have to be a traumatic event, but just an instance in which a lie snuck its way into your psyche.
Finally, the wood is the lie you’ve believed that feeds all of your reactions and shapes your perspective.
How Inner healing works is you ask the Holy Spirit to help guide you. Sometimes you can have someone pray with you and facilitate these questions.
First: you ask the Holy Spirit to highlight a memory in the past two weeks (or further back) in which you overreacted or underreacted to something.
Second: You ask the Holy Spirit to show you the first time you felt that emotion.
Third: You ask the Holy Spirit- What was the lie that came from that event?
Fourth: You then ask the Holy Spirit where Jesus was in that moment, and ask Him to speak the truth over you.
Fifth: You repent to God about believing in the lie and choose to believe Jesus’ truth.
Sixth: Know this is a process. At the center of it, Jesus feels your pain and wants to heal your heart so that those moments are no longer victimizing but instead, testaments to the heart of Jesus in your suffering and hurt.
When I went through Inner Healing, I was brought to some hurts over abandonment and wanting connection but meeting loneliness instead.
Then Jesus rewrote the scene.
A memory came to mind from when I was younger. I had woken up from a nightmare at my grandparents’ house. Usually, when I had a nightmare, I would come to my parents for comfort. Except this time, the door to their temporary room was locked. No matter how much I cried or knocked, the door remained shut. (I didn’t know it at the time, but my parents had moved to the RV for the night) So all I could do was cry on the steps of the stairs to my room until I finally went back to my bed. I had never felt so alone and afraid. But then Jesus rewrote the scene.
When I asked where Jesus was in that moment. I was taken back to that memory, but instead of me being alone and crying, I was laughing and joking with Jesus sitting on the steps beside me. Now, whenever I go back to that memory, I think of that new scene. Jesus showed me how He wanted to interact with me in that moment, if I could only be aware of His love. Because of this, I know that Jesus can rewrite some of our darkest moments.
The rest of the week, we learned about all of the freedoms that we have that are available in Christ Jesus. It was a beautiful experience to learn that we don’t have to settle for a little bit of freedom when Jesus is offering COMPLETE freedom. The type in which you feel as weightless as air, and as joyous as a child.
Life with Jesus is a process. But I have hope that through walking with Jesus, He will take care of me and show me new freedoms each and every day.
Next week is going to be crazy- It’s Holy Spirit week, and we will have lessons smack-dab in the middle of a Holy Spirit conference that Fire and Fragrance -my ministry- is hosting. So get ready for some pockets of glory!
Leave a Reply