Story by Skyler Cumbia and photos provided by Skyler Cumbia.
I was stuck. Rooted to the ground, with no hint of what to do with my life. So I went to Africa.
As a senior in high school, I had to decide what to do next. Should I go to college even though I didn’t know what I wanted to do? Or should I take a gap year? Spend some time away serving the Lord and hoping that He would reveal His plan for my life? Okay, that is pretty broad. Maybe, He would reveal at least the next step.
I didn’t receive a blinking sign in the sky saying, “Skyler! Do this and that by means of such and such at that place for this amount of time.” As helpful as that would have been, God chooses to speak to me by small nudges, hints here and there, giving me not the full picture, but glimpses of what might be if I follow His lead.
God used my time in Africa not only to lead me, but to teach me. He used the stares of the children to remind me not to shy away from attention as I would like to, but use it as an opportunity to show them Christ through my actions. He used the hard and hot days and nights to test my reliance on Him. He used the singing and dancing in church to show me that we don’t praise Him enough for the glorious things He has done. He used the people’s joyous and ready acceptance of Jesus as Savior to show me that Christ’s mission to all of us, to go and tell, isn’t as complicated as we make it and that having the faith of a child is the strongest faith there is.
While God taught me, He spoke to me, through the sermons of the pastor, the testimonies of former Muslims, and yes, even in the moments when all I needed was the breeze of a fan and suddenly the electricity in our house came back on. In those moments He said, “I am here, I am with you, helping you. Listen to Me.”
When I had malaria and was lying helplessly in bed determined I would never take good health for granted ever again, it struck me – maybe God is nudging me to study medicine. Through my experience, I can certainly empathize with those who have contracted malaria! Why not help to heal them? This is what I live for, a glimpse of what might be if I follow His lead.
So when it comes to decisions, my philosophy is: Don’t rush them, sit and meditate on where God may be leading me and what He may teach me as I listen to every little thing He has to say.
Editor’s note: Read about Skyler’s leaving for Africa and check out her blog.
Thank you Skyler for these wise words. God does speak in mysterious ways that are often in that almost indiscernible voice of nudges, or the provision of peace about a situation or decision. You have blessed us in your reports from Africa as much as He has blessed you. May he continue to bless the rest of your gap year and speak his direction to you. Thanks for listening – that’s the most important part of our walk with the Lord! So glad you are not “stuck” anymore!