As you must know by now, I'm constantly seeking inspiring quotes for our stones.  Thus as the movie ended and the text rolled across the screen, this African proverb clearly summed up the entire premise of the movie.  I paused to reread it.  Not only had I been captivated for the past two hours by this remarkably raw story of survival and hope, I wasn't ready to leave it.  I wanted to savor the lessons.

The movie was "The Good Lie".  It is a story of young Sudanese siblings caught in the grips of inhumanity, witnessing the brutal deaths of their parents and forced to escape their home traveling on foot for hundreds of miles before reaching a refugee camp. Not only was their struggle to survive the wilds of nature, the ever-present danger of militia attack, hunger and thirst, it was to hold on to their faith that God would guide them to safety.  I highly recommend you see this movie.

No worries, I won't give away the story.  In fact, you will see much more if you go online and watch the trailer.  However, the children grew to adulthood in a refugee camp and were eventually given the opportunity to come to live and work in the United States.  They had no material belongings, nothing but each other.  Their naivety was refreshing. Yet what stood out to me was the way in which they viewed life...through the eyes of simplicity.  They were not clouded by needing anything other than each other.

The spirit within us is a God given gift like no other.   Through that power we can persevere, we can overcome, we can dream, we can believe...and we can do so much more together.  We don't need "stuff".  We need each other. 

Just as we need others to walk beside us, we must learn from those who have cleared the way before us. Just as I seek out inspiring quotes, I am inspired by people and their stories.  As a little girl I devoured biographies and autobiographies because their stories came alive for me.  They made me dream of possibilities.  They made me realize there are no limitations...that the very ones who had the very least oftentimes impact the world as no others can.

As Helen Keller wrote, "what we leave behind us is not engraved in stone monuments, but woven into the lives of others."  Our lives are richer through those who have gone before us and those who walk this life beside us.  As we surround ourselves by those who view life through eyes of simplicity we too can grasp that same vision...clearing the way to pursue our dreams.  

We are not in this alone, but traveling together.  God has you in the palm of His hand with those He intended specifically to accompany you on this road through life.  Thus "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1).