When God Chooses You by Maureen Kambarami

A God adventure is an instant trip or opportunity that God gives us at any point in our lives. There is often no warning before-hand since God expects us to trust Him completely, since He has our best interests at heart, for He knows the plans that He has for each one of us (Jeremiah 29:11). However, our participation is entirely voluntary, we can choose to either accept or reject the offer and if we choose the latter, God will still find someone else to carry out the mission. This reminds me of the story of Esther in the Bible when Mordecai asked her to plead to the King on behalf of the Jewish people. Esther naturally hesitated, for who in his right mind would knowingly approach the lion’s den? However, Esther’s hesitation so infuriated Mordecai that he sent her this harsh message, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish” (Esther 4:14, NIV) This clearly shows that even if we turn a God adventure down, God will still find someone else to carry out that mission. However, His choice of a person is based on our life experiences. It is those same experiences that qualify us for the job because God is the one “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Cor 1:4, NIV). This qualification, therefore, makes us confident of taking any adventure, knowing that God never makes mistakes in His choices.

I had my first God adventure when I was still a teenager, and when it happened, it wasn’t expected at all. I was 16 years old when I finished high school and was at a crossroads in my life. Unlike my peers, who knew precisely what they wanted to study in college, I was caught between two choices: nursing or teaching. No matter how hard I tried to make a choice, I just could not convince myself that it was the right one. It is at this point that my mother advised me to take a gap year, hoping the time out will clear my foggy mind. My pastor then came to my rescue and advised me to join a group of other teens who were going away on a 12 months’ missionary experience at a remote mission hospital. That is how I found myself packing my few worldly possessions and bidding my teary-eyed mother and sibling’s farewell. To be honest, I had not the faintest inkling of what I was getting myself into, but I was just glad that I was going to work at the mission hospital for nursing was my first love.

Upon arrival at the mission hospital, I was assigned to the male ward where I was supervised by a registered nurse. The latter was a highly sociable person and a good teacher; her only weakness was her perennial late coming. As a result, I had to man the ward by myself most of the time as she either came to work late or extended her tea and lunch breaks. It was during one lunch break that an unusual incident happened. The previous day we had admitted a male who came in with 60% burn wounds inflicted by his wife with boiling water after an argument. The man was in in clear agony, and everyone who looked at him could not help but sympathize with him. I was chatting with one patient when the man’s wife came to visit him that afternoon, and all eyes in the ward were on her. The judgemental stares that followed her around were enough to cause tension in the small ward. I was also affected, for I could not comprehend why such a beautiful young woman would hurt her own husband in such a painful manner. I could feel the tension building up in me as I looked at this woman, and when I could not control myself any longer, I called her aside and asked why she was not in police custody for the heinous crime she had committed. Instead of responding, the woman broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably. It took some time and effort to calm her down, and by that time I was reeling in guilt and silently admonishing myself for being so forward. She then narrated how she was trapped in an abusive marriage and had no escape route since her parents always sent her back to her abusive husband, stating that he had paid her bride price so she could not leave him. Divorcing her husband meant returning the bride price, an action that her poor parents could not afford. When she showed me the scars she had accumulated over the years on her body, my heart bled. The walk I had taken in her shoes made me abandon my judgemental attitude right away. After our chat, I released her to go back to her husband’s side while I went outside to compose myself. A few minutes later, one of the cleaners came to tell me that the matron (director of nursing) wanted to see me at my workstation with immediate effect. I rushed back inside only to be greeted by commotion when I got to my station; there was an uproar in the ward. Everyone had ganged up on that poor woman, led by her husband’s relatives who had just arrived for the afternoon visiting hour.

“Maureen, what’s going on here? Please control your ward!” The matron’s voice brought me back to reality. I was tongue-tied for a moment. All these fighting people were older than me, and I was just a child in their eyes. However, I could not ignore the matron’s orders and in the absence of my supervisor, I was in charge.

“My mothers and fathers, please listen to me…” I began, shakily at first. I don’t know where I found the words, but I just know that it was God who gave me those words. Everyone became silent as they listened to my speech. I narrated the woman’s story, the toxic marriage, and how one day she lost control and sought revenge the way she did. I clarified that I did not condone her actions but only wanted them to take a brief walk in her shoes to understand where she was coming from.

My speech left everyone deep in thought. After visiting hour, the woman concerned came to thank me, but I was honest and told her to get out of that marriage as soon as possible before either of them lost their life. As I reflected on this incident later in my life, I realized God had chosen me for that mission because of my experiences. Having come from an abusive family myself and subsequently a broken home, I was the best person to advise that woman and her husband and to educate the others who were being judgemental without the right facts. This incident thus marked the beginning of my career as a Social Worker.

In our lives, we will come across a lot of God adventures. Each adventure is different and so are the requirements, but the bottom line is that God is with us in each adventure. He knows what’s best for us and all we have to do is to trust Him completely and let Him lead us as we fulfil his mission on earth.

Maureen Cresencia Kambarami is a Social Worker with extensive experience in family counseling and therapy. A woman after God’s word and principles, she is passionate about writing Christian articles and believes in telling authentic stories to inspire and uplift others.