Reflections from a Rhino

. . On Friday, we took the boys out of school, drove 2 hours to Rustenburg, ate at McDonalds and then we went to see High School Musical 3. It was just one of those 'just-because-events." There was no special reason. On the way out of town, we passed by the Mafikeng Game Reserve. Sometimes we see some animals, but most of the time we don't. We have seen giraffe several times, but that is about it other than some springbok or other deer-like animal. This day was different, however, As we were driving, we saw a rhino. Never had we seen a rhino in that area and he/she was really close to the fence which is right beside the road. We saw the rhino, but just kept on going. I soon asked Jody "If this happened 4 years ago, what would we have done?" She immediately replied, "You would have pulled over and stopped." We used to do that with whatever animals we would see.

. . Well, we continued on our journey - shopping, eating, and watching a movie. As we traveled back home, my mind came back to the rhino incident. I was thinking about not stopping to look at the rhino. I thought - have I become used to the things around me? Have I become complacent with the things God wants to do? What He wants to do through me? I remember a part of a Keith Green concert where he speaks about having 'baby-skin' on his heart. He wanted to have a tender heart to things of God. At that moment, that became the prayer of my heart. "God, I want 'baby-skin' on my heart so that I can instantly hear your voice - and not just hear - but to hear and obey."

. . You know what, probably next time, we'll stop and look at the rhinos.