“A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH ONE SMALL STEP”.
In this quote, Lao Tzu is expressing the fact that great things start from humble beginnings. I so enjoyed a movie with a similar title called” The Hundred Foot Journey”. The movie depicted an Indian family who move to France from India. The young son would help his mother cook over a fire stove. He and his family, including a stubborn father, are “forced” to move there, after their mother and home perish in a fire. They move right across the road from a French lady (Helen Mirren), who delightfully portrays the arrogant owner of a renowned restaurant. The son is then recognized by the owner to be talented and gifted. She hires him to become her chef and trains him. The young man flourishes in his talent and becomes a well know Michelin chef in France.
The title of that movie “A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with One Step” was certainly the case with The Sanctuary Soul Care Centre.
Shortly after moving to South Africa, I was given this prophecy:
“God is calling you to establish something in a country that is not your own. It is a small seed. It may be something small but it is some big thing that is latent and dormant. It is a vision waiting to be birthed”.
If I knew then what God had in mind, I think I would have turned tail and, got on the next plane back to Zimbabwe!
The following is an extract from my journal in 2010:“Lord, I am feeling doubts. Can I do this? Can we? Did I hear right? Other people who live here have given me their point of view, some negative, and, some not very encouraging. Lord, we may not have been living here long, but we know you have called us and we want to be obedient. I don’t want to lose my enthusiasm when things get tough or there are challenges. We are here not to compete or to be seen as a threat, but we want to add value and build. Lord if this is a man-made idea, and we are rushing ahead, please show us. If not, and this ‘vision’ comes from you, then Lord, please open doors. Help us find favour. Give us boldness, confidence in you; clarify whatever is needed to accomplish your work here. Help us to hear your voice above all others Lord.”
I asked God for confirmation and one night I had a strange dream. In the dream Vincent and I had gone to watch a show at Monte Casino. I had a baby wrapped in a blanket and I had, for some obscure reason, put the baby down on the floor next to me. When the show ended, I ran downstairs to meet up with some friends from Zimbabwe, who were visiting us. To my horror, I had forgotten the baby on the floor in the theatre! I ran back upstairs and picked up the baby, and immediately handed the baby over to my friend who began to walk away. As she was walking away, the baby peeped out from under the blanket and stared shouting out my name “Olga! Olga!” I woke up confused and perplexed. The dream was so vivid. As I began to pray, God showed me that the baby was the vision He had given me of The Sanctuary, and that I was trying to give that responsibility and vision away. The baby calling my name out was His way of telling me that the vision had been given to me. It had my name on it and He wanted me to trust and obey.
A few weeks after this dream, I was given a verse from a lady who had been praying for me, at a retreat Vincent and I had attended:
John 16:21:
“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy, that a child is born into the world.”
I knew God was once again speaking to me about Sanctuary. It takes more than an individual to birth a vision and I am grateful to my husband, children, family and those eight ladies in the bible study group who prayed and supported Sanctuary in to it’s existence. My life has not been the same since then!
The Sanctuary Soul Care Centre has now been established, and God has shown himself to be faithful. Was it effortless? A resounding no is the response. Was it challenging and faith provoking? The answer is a definite yes! Sanctuary started off with no funding, and began its humble beginnings in my small counselling room. Gradually the Lord blessed us with divine connections, and we moved into other venues, always free of charge and always at the right time.
I remember a particular season where Sanctuary had absolutely no finances coming in, and, Vincent (bless him!) was unable to assist this time. We had a few small bills to pay, and I cried out to God on a windy, gloomy Sunday, asking Him to please come through. It felt like only seconds later, that I received a message from our bank, informing me that money had just been deposited in to Sanctuary’s account! To this day I do not know who it was as they chose to remain anonymous. God provided what we needed and we kept going. When God calls us to accomplish His purposes He always equips and provides. I battled in the beginning with founding Sanctuary, as I believed I had to have a degree, which would make me more qualified and well known. I felt so inadequate, unworthy and insecure. God showed me that He equips the “called”, not necessarily the qualified, so that all glory goes to Him alone. When the vision is bigger than us, when it terrifies us, then it can only be from Him, as we cannot accomplish it without Him.
So has God called you to something that seems bigger than you?
Does it seem impossible to achieve?
Are you floundering? Are you lacking in confidence and boldness?
If yes, then turn to Him and ask for that which is lacking. He listens and answers.
He is calling you to be a showcase not for yourself but for His glory.
