My bags are mostly packed. Only 2 more full days of memories are left to be created. I still struggle to know exactly what to feel. There’s so many things to look forward to upon a return to a country I grew up in—so many family members and friends to hug and share a hot cup of coffee with (in the nice, cold weather). I am excited for it.
But I hate to tear myself away from everything here in Ghana—the people, the feeble attempts at learning Twi (and Ewe and Ga, among others), the smells in the market, the smiles of kids as they cheerfully scamper about, the taste of fufu and groundnut soup, among a million other things, and yes, even the heat.
During my time at 37 Military Hospital, a place I already dearly miss, I would listen to a specific album by Selah on the bus ride. I was really enjoying it and suddenly realized that I was creating a very significant memory by doing this. I contemplated trying to stop making the memory so profound, then decided it was totally worth it.
The following song became the one I would play every morning as we reached a certain spot close to the hospital so that it would be the last words in my mind before I started another shift.
There’s always gonna be, a valley full of shadows
Lonely nights when we, have tears we need to cry
There’s always gonna be, some prayers that seem unanswered
Moments you and me, got a thousand questions, why?
[Chorus]
But there’s always gonna be, a light that keeps on shining
There’s always gonna be, a hope that keeps us strong
We always will believe, there’s a love that will not leave us
So there’s always gonna be, the joy to journey on
[Verse 2]
There’s always gonna be, some days the cupboard’s empty
The path is hard to see, through worries and through doubt
Always gonna be, some nights when it’s hard sleeping
Back down upon our knees, with dreams that don’t work out
[Chorus]
But there’s always gonna be, a light that keeps on shining
There’s always gonna be, a hope that keeps us strong
We always will believe, in a love that will not leave us
So there’s always gonna be, the joy to journey on
Gonna journey on
[Verse 3]
There’s always gonna be, some skeptics and some doubters
Stones they throw and we, would rather run and hide
Always gonna be, times our hearts are breaking
When songs are in the key, of sorrow and goodbye
[Chorus]
But there’s always gonna be, a light that keeps on shining
There’s always gonna be, a hope that keeps us strong
We always will believe, in a love that will not leave us
So there’s always gonna be, the joy to journey on
There’s always gonna be, the power of resurrection
There’s always gonna be, new mercies with the dawn
With truth that sets us free and the sweetness of His presence
There’s always gonna be, the joy to journey on
Oh, the joy to journey on
[Outro]
Always gonna be
Just journey on
Gonna journey on
~Selah
Tears threaten to spill every time I listen to the album, but this song will forever be the theme of my time in Africa.
But there’s always gonna be, a light that keeps on shining
There’s always gonna be, a hope that keeps us strong
We always will believe, in a love that will not leave us
So there’s always gonna be, the joy to journey on
There’s always going to be the joy to journey on.
There’s always valleys and mountains to traverse in each experience and in the precise moments, the full impact of the experience is obscured. But as we keep going, in hope, love, and joy, we experience more fully the sweetness of the journey.
I am humbled and grateful.
Gonna journey on.
Lena's Footprints in Ghana 