Back to the Basics

When I was in Ghana earlier this summer, I noticed a few wonderful and delightfully commonsensical ways in which Ghanaian people praised and prayed to God. As a result, I have undertaken to apply what I learned from them as my new year’s resolution … the opening of school having always been a more obvious new year to me than January first will ever be. I invite you to join me, because if praying and praising God in a Ghanaian fashion can make us anywhere near as joyful as my new African friends, then we (and perhaps even our world) will be the better off for it.

First, if I asked a Ghanaian – a first grade student on the coast or a wise grandfather and tribal chief in the north – “How are you?” they would typically respond, “I am blessed and highly favored by the Lord!” … and they meant it! How many times do we respond to, or hear a response to, the very same question without really thinking, listening, or even anticipating an answer? Hasn’t “how are you?” become such an automatic question to us that we rattle it off and then move on to our next thought without waiting for the response, perhaps even missing it when someone says tells us they’re something other than “fine thanks?” My Ghanaian friends truly wanted to know how I was doing, not settling for my quick “fine” answer, but digging further to make sure I meant it … “did you rest well?” or “are you enjoying our country?” or “have you tried Ghanaian food?” They wanted to know about my experience and not simply my quick and thoughtless take on my wellbeing. Also I realized that, despite the daily struggles of the Ghanaians lives in the developing world, their first thoughts were always expressions of the blessings they took time to notice each day. I am now committed to knowing others and noticing my blessings as well.

Secondly, Ghanaians seemed to qualify much of what they told me about their lives with the three words, “By His Grace.” The credit for their greatest achievements, like a successful harvest, as well as their smallest daily occurrences, like waking up in the morning, was always given to God. This doesn’t need any further explanation here – it makes such good sense! We should all be more ready to give God the glory.

Thirdly, when Ghanaians led prayers – at church meetings or around the dinner table at home – they consistently began by saying, “Thank you God for the gift of life.” While I admit to feeling pretty good about my own personal prayer life, my Ghanaian friends helped me to realize that I have been ignoring the obvious in giving thanks. Another day of life is something I basically assume I’m going to receive, given that I have more than I need to sustain life, I’m in reasonable health, and I’ve grown accustomed to 43 years of living and living well. Most people that I met in Ghana do not have everything they need to sustain life; they have all lost many friends and family to diseases (malaria, for example) that they themselves are just lucky enough to have not contracted; and they have a very deep sense that their next days are not guaranteed. Mine aren’t either and so, before thanking God for the abundant blessings I continually enjoy, I’m going to make a habit of gratitude for the one that makes enjoyment even possible – the gift of life each day.

Lastly, at work, at play, and at rest, Ghanaians seemed to be in a constant state of praising God! Students, walking shoeless for miles to and from school, sing hymns as they go. Women, washing laundry and dishes in the water they carried home on top of their heads from the faraway well, were always singing about their love for Jesus. And men, selling watermelons by the roadside or patching the latest hole in the roofs of their huts, stomped their feet and called out “praise God” at unexpected moments, in absolute joy. We always have reasons to praise God, and I am quite certain that we would know more serious and constant joy if we would remember to do so!

I learned a lot in Ghana. (You’re likely to hear and read a lot more about it!) I received exponentially more than I was able to give, and my life has been transformed by the experience. This transformation will mean very little, however, if I don’t put into practice those things that inspired me most. I ask you to hold me accountable to what I’ve professed to do here – ask me how it’s going – and, no matter what, please don’t settle for a rushed answer of “fine!”