Last night as I was finishing getting things ready to come home today, I began to reflect on these past few months. The overlapping theme that kept coming to me was how easy it has been for me to take for granted the people AND the situations the Lord placed into my life these past few months. I began to imagine what it would look like if I were going home to Ohio for good… and wouldn’t be returning to San Miguel, and I realized that I had indeed overlooked many details of these past months as blessings from the Lord. Such things as daily spending time with my roommates, Spanish class, and spending time building relationships to such simple things as warm, sunny weather and living in a friendly culture and much more became such a routine for me that I often overlooked the things God wanted to teach me in the midst of routine. Quite honestly, I feel blessed that the Lord gave me a chance to see these past few months more clearly last night, as a gift from Him!
As I entered San Miguel in September, I came because I felt called by the Lord to serve as a light for His name here in the midst of much darkness and searching hearts. The very thing I am fighting to be content in is the fact that I feel like the Lord has done more in my heart than He has used me to affect any one other person’s heart here. However, Jesus has shown me that His plan for calling me to Mexico may very well be just as much to draw me into a closer intimacy with Him than me having a list of converts because of my time spent connecting with and loving on the people I meet here.
For the past month or more we have been going through the life of David on Sundays and I have been struck with the fact of how “human” David really is, and yet right in the midst of his “humanness” is a man that understands and believes with his whole heart the glory and power of God. Psalms 22:1-3 is an example of that: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. YET you are holy!” You see, David was experiencing pain and as though the Lord had deserted him, BUT he came back to proclaiming God’s holiness in the midst of his despair. The verse we keep coming back to in this study of David’s life, found in 2 Chron. 16:9, states “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless (totally committed) to Him.”
The Lord has taught me that no matter what my days, months, or years are characterized by, what He wants from me above all else is a heart that is completely committed to serving Him; Striving to love Him with my whole hear, and believing His power to be alive in me because of His Spirit living within. I just finished a book called Forgotten God by Francis Chan (one I highly recommend) and loved what Francis said: “ There is nothing better than being Absolutely sure that the most powerful Being in the universe adores you as His own child! This is precisely the confidence the Holy Spirit offers us!”
So once again my blog post is forever long.. so I will wrap it up now! I hope to update a little better the second time around in San Miguel :) As always, I am so blessed by your support in prayers and notes of encouragement. Thank You and Blessings to you this Christmas!
Celebrating Thanksgiving at Scott and Tammy's
Carlos's gifts for Mark and I's birthday
My friend, Julieta- another December 1st birthday :)
Mark and I celebrating our birthday
