In American culture, we always have to be doing something.
The definition of productive is basically accomplishing your to do list. So
here in the Dominican, where productive means pretty much the opposite, life is
very refreshing.
On Saturday, my team and I walked down to Las Latas where we
have been working. There is one particular house in the neighborhood that we
love to go visit. In this one small house live 4 generations of families, full
of life and love, always welcoming us into their home. We sat down around 3:00
in the afternoon and started socializing with them, laughing and talking about
typical girl stuff. I even got my nails painted by Wendy, one of the women that
we have really gotten close to. Around 5:00, we were still there, having an
amazing time just building relationships with these women. We danced for a
while, and Rossy taught me how to do the robot. We shared words about our
beliefs and how culture can make things different. All in all, it was an
amazing day. And to a Dominican, that was a productive day.
I think sometimes we get caught up in the need to always be
busy. We think that by finishing our to-do list or accomplishing certain goals
makes our day that much better. And this is the same in the spiritual sense,
too. If we work at the soup kitchen, help our neighbor, and organize a benefit
that we have succeeded greatly and become closer to God. But sometimes, God
just wants us to talk to Him. He wants us to spend a day just getting to know
Him, laughing with Him, and enjoying His presence. And by just having a
conversation with Him, He is pleased with us.
Psalm 46:10a “Be still and know that I am God.”
