I don’t think anyone can deny the reality that nowadays we live in a very self-centred world. Our culture teaches us that we are most important and we need to achieve to be worth anything.I used to live for people’s approval. I was one of those girls who needed to be praised. All my confidence came from the recognition I got. I wanted to be the centre of attention. I wanted to be the heroine of the story. I wanted to change things and people. My biggest fear was not being remembered. I guess people can relate to those longings, it’s part of human nature. But I wanted all these things for my own selfish reasons.

In this country there is beauty everywhere you look. Sunsets which have shades you couldn’t even imagine, where the colours are so bright it’s as if there is a light shining behind making it luminous. Beaches with crystal clear waves frothing as they hit the white sands or the rocks which jut out of the water like sharks circling. Never-ending flat plains with dust that makes the horizon line look hazy like in a dream. Mountains which create such nice shapes and silhouettes, covered with green showing life and growth. Standing out in the countryside at night time looking up at the stars it feels like you are in a simulation, the longer you look, the bigger the sky seems, it expands all around you, more stars seeming to light up everywhere you look. Standing on top of Table Mountain, you look down over CapeTown – at the contrast of sea and mountainous landscape, and the city nestled there, while you are in the clouds – and for a moment in time everything is still and you are on top of the world. And I realised; I am so small (just one of billions of people on this earth) blessed to be able to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

Here is the lesson I have been learning by the grace of God – I am not the centre of the universe. I am being reminded that I don’t need the spotlight or the microphone. I don’t need all the attention. I can’t change the world singlehandedly. I am not the most important BUT (and this is a very big but) I am loved by the creator of this breathtakingly beautiful and intricate universe. I was chosen and Jesus died for me; yes, little insignificant me. And now I have a purpose. I can be part of an adventure where I get to bring him glory and leave my mark.

I am just an ordinary girl but I am serving an extraordinary God and that changes everything. We have an important mission, we are called to make our life count.

‘I don’t need my name in lights, I’m famous in my Fathers eyes. Make no mistake, he knows my name. I’m not living for applause, I’m already so adored.’

When you think about the whole world and how many people there are we can be overwhelmed at how small and insignificant we can seem. There are 18 million orphans in the world. That is a huge number. When you look at that figure it feels like your effort can’t do anything to change anything. But as I have experienced in the last six months and as David Platt says; when you get to know their individual names and faces and you start to love and care for even one of them, you can change their lives. It’s a mirror of God with us – he knows each one of us, loves us and changes us. One step at a time…

‘Not because of who I am, but because of what you’ve done. Not because of what I’ve done but because of who you are. I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow. A wave tossed in the ocean, a vapour in the wind. Still you, hear me when I’m calling. Lord, you catch me when I’m falling. You’ve told me who I am. I am yours’

Orphans live with a hugely significant question which goes unanswered. Who am I? Everyone needs identity. As Christians we have the unique and life altering answer to that question. We can say ‘I am yours’. We can know that we are chosen, we are loved, we are His. It is challenging to share this, but from the last 6 months I can say with confidence that it is totally worth it in every way.