God delighted us in numerous ways on safari. It almost seemed that everything we secretly prayed for happened. One of my favorite moments (among many) was rain on the Masai Mara. On the first day of safari, I made the off-hand comment, “Wouldn’t it be cool to see rain on that mountain?” The mountain I was referring to was beyond-description beautiful. From our distant vantage point, it looked like a watercolor of kelly green, light green, and oat-colored grasses, dappled with deep purple and bluish hues, illuminated by the ever-present sunlight. So of course God brought rain to the Mara at the conclusion of our second day on safari, just to delight my heart. After having pulled right up next to a family of elephants, including the biggest one I’ve ever seen, we drove right into the rainstorm on the Mara. I felt it before I experienced it. The temperature dropped at least 15 degrees. The clouds were gathering before us. I was standing up at the front of our van, which had an open top that could be lowered at the push of a button. I leaned as far forward as I could to feel the light mist on my face, reminiscent of misty ocean breezes. It smelled like rain, a smell that immediately resurrected in my mind my grandparents’ farm in Iowa. Yet here I was in Africa, worlds away. God is so amazing! I breathed it into my soul and let it cleanse me from the inside out. I am blessed to have experienced many spiritual moments in my life that are tied to specific places and events, so I recognized this moment for what it was. A love embrace by my Creator that I didn’t want to end.

Being in the Mara had to be as close to heaven as one can get in this life. One of my safari buddies remarked that she could almost see Jesus walking toward us through the tall grasses with open arms. My thoughts were on the total restoration of the earth, the new heaven and new earth. That instead of being confined in a van, I will be running among the tall grasses, playing with the cheetahs who were playing in the morning sun. That our story began in a garden and will end in a garden.