Dua Fe

On Thursday my pastor was talking about the Jesus and the fig tree from Mark 11. He talked about how a tree that was full of life would manifest the life within it with fruit. That fruit would then provide life and nourishment to all around it. All a tree does is stand there - anyone who wants what the tree has will come to it and partake.
This simple statement resonated with me on so many levels. For years it has been my prayer that I would be so full of the Holy Spirit that people could feel it without me having to do anything, like a tree that attracts people to it with its delicious fruit. Also, God has been showing me lately how much everything I do should be a manifestation of my relationship with Him - the life within me. Lastly, God has been reassuring me that I don't have to do anything but surrender myself fully to Him and his love. That love will automatically translate into a love for other people without my trying to be a super Christian and go looking for ways to serve Him. In the same way, a tree doesn't go chasing people down, working itself into the ground. A tree makes itself available and trusts that the right people will come to it. Then the tree gives of itself to them.
So my prayer since that day has been that I would be God's tree. It's been pretty rough for me because when I focus on my relationship with God instead of what I can do for Him, I lose all distractions and start to see what kind of person I really am. Funny - people talk about how we block God out with activity. I never thought we blocked out with Christian activity! Anyway, I was pretty broken yesterday, so I was just praying that God would help me fully submit to Him and make me into His tree, though it seemed an impossible task.
As I was praying, my hand moved to the shell hanging around my neck. I had found the shell in Cape Coast, one of the most beautiful beach resorts in Ghana. I began thinking about the shell and how much I had enjoyed collecting shells that day. Then I thought of the three Ghanian guys that had helped me. Suddenly I got the chills - one of those moments where God's awesomeness is so real you get chills. They had created a Twi nickname for me. They called me Dua Fe.
Dua Fe means beautiful tree.