My dad has been to Africa several times for various mission trips. Several years ago he brought back the African buffalo figurine picture above. I was dusting our shelves at the office tonight and saw this and was reminded of this story.

During his last trip there he told us that he saw it and he thought of my husband. (Ok not in that way…stick with me here!) 🙂

At the time Dominic and I had been through some really tough years. TOUGH years that almost broke us….but as we started to walk in faith a little we found ourself surrounded by a group of friends that were a huge support and impact on us.

We spent time with these friends each week, found encouragement, learned how to laugh again and trust in others.

They were our “herd”…our tribe. And my dad was the first one to make the connection between the African buffalo’s behavior and that of our friend’s.

Apparently the African water buffalo displays some interesting behavior within their herd. If they are being chased by a predator, the herd will stick closely together and make it hard for the predator to pick off one member.

The weaker, smaller members are surrounded and kept in the middle and if a member of the herd issues a distress call, the other members will respond and try to rescue anyone who needs help.

They look out for one another, they support and protect each other and respond when there were times of distress.

Just like the tribe of friends that surrounded us in our times of need.

We wouldn’t be where we are today if we hadn’t had those remarkable people in our lives. I am ever grateful that God allowed us to experience that kind of friendship.

Today I have the gift of a new “herd”. (And girls I mean this in the nicest, most fashionable way) 😉

I have found myself surrounded by wonderful women of God who encourage me, pray for me and cheer me on.

When I have felt the attacks of the enemy, I know I can go immediately to my tribe. They support me and cover me with prayer and they never let the weakest of us fall outside of the protection of the circle.

I hope that if you are reading this, you too have felt the support of a tribe like this.

That figurine in our office will always be a reminder of this gift that God has given us throughout the years. While some of the people have changed, the blessings they have been to us are immeasurable.

My prayer this week is that you too will feel the comfort of your own herd, a tribe that is God-picked just for you.

Each week I am joining the lovely Holley Gerth in her 2014 Encouragement Challenge. If you want to join in on the fun hop on over here.

Sometimes we don’t realize the impact we can have with our words and actions.

Gabriel climbed in the van after school last Friday and wasn’t his usual happy self. There is a group of six boys that he hangs out with and apparently one of the boys was having a birthday party that night and Gabriel was the only boy not invited.

If the sound of this mama’s heart breaking could be heard outside of my chest, the noise would have filled the car.

Oh how I want to protect him from hurts like this.

And it reminded me of a similar story with a different ending several years ago.

Isaac, our oldest, was 7 and wanted to have his first birthday party.

He had a class with mostly boys that year and when I asked him who he wanted to invited he gave me a list. I recognized that he had invited almost all of the boys…but there were a few names left out.

We had a conversation and I told him that I really felt like he should invite ALL the boys.

He said that there were a few boys he didn’t really get along with and he didn’t really want to invite them….but I told him that if he didn’t like them, the feeling may be mutual and they likely wouldn’t show – so invite them anyways.

I felt strongly that I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Inviting all the boys would eliminate that possibility.

The invitations went out and I planned for a party.

10 out of the 14 boys came that Saturday afternoon.

It was loud, they spilled on my carpet and Dominic entertained them with dry ice. Stressful but fun, and totally worth it.

Parents started arriving to pick up their kids as the party ended and one mother approached me.

I didn’t know a lot of the parents but she came over to thank me for inviting her son.  She said that he had not ever been invited to a birthday party before. He was so excited to be included that he went to bed the night before wearing his best church clothes.

He didn’t want to chance missing out on the party.

I won’t ever forget that conversation. It choked me up then and still does today.

He and Isaac never became best friends….but for that day, in his best church clothes, he felt special and included.

THAT is what matters friends.

Doing the little things that make such a profound impact.

I don’t know why Gabriel wasn’t invited to that party. I told him that maybe the mom only had enough room for 5 kids total in their car…..would 1 more have been too much? 🙁

When I shared the story about Isaac’s party and how I felt it was so important to do our best to include everyone for that very reason, Gabriel understood and said he doesn’t ever want to make anyone feel left out.

I know that situations like this can’t be 100% avoided, but it reminds me that I need to be considerate of others and that my actions, my children’s actions, can make a difference.

Philippians2: 3-4  “3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

How have you made a difference recently? It may seem small, but I can promise even the little things can have a big impact!

Each week I am joining the lovely Holley Gerth in her 2014 Encouragement Challenge. If you want to join in on the fun hop on over here!!

Photo Credit: via