You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with JOY in your presence, with eternal pleasures at you right hand.
Psalm 16:11
Today, I woke up late… like really late. I was supposed to be ready and downstairs for school in 15 minutes… oops! Usually, this scenario would send me into a fit of stress and anxiety, but not today. When I woke up, I sat in my hammock, looked around, said yikes, and continued in my day.
Today I’m choosing to look to the Lord. Today I’m choosing JOY.
My joy is always something that I’ve considered to be a huge blessing from the Lord. It’s something that people often call out in me, and honestly, it’s something that I love, love, love about the demeanor that God has given me. It’s also something that I’ve been seeing less of in the past week or so. This has been such a weird time for me. The “honeymoon stage” of the Race has faded, and I’ve come to realize that I actually won’t see my friends, my family, and my home for 11 months. That’s a scary thought, and I let it get to me a little bit. I’m currently walking through a season of solidifying my identity in Christ, rather than running to my usual comforts. This is a tough process to be honest. Abandonment isn’t the giant, joyous adventure that’s often played up to be!
Today, when I woke up, instead of getting angry about my sleepiness, I looked around and realized how excited that I am that the Lord has brought me here. He’s placed me on an amazing team with amazing people in an amazing country at an AMAZING ministry with even more amazing people to pour into me! What in the world do I have to frown about? The Lord gave me breath this morning, and He gave me a beautiful sunny day today (which is actually really rare in Costa Rica apparently). He has given me an opportunity to speak to Him this morning while I didn’t have classes to teach. He has given me the opportunity to serve my teammate by chasing our wind-blown laundry around. Most of all, God chooses to love me through all of my mess. Wow.
Today, I’m choosing to look to the Lord for joy, rather than attempting to make my own. Our Creator is so mighty and wondrous, and the fact that He thinks of me is definitely something to rejoice about!
Thank you Lord for your joy. Thank you for your provision and your grace. Help me to look to you for this joy daily, and continue to speak through my time here in Costa Rica. Amen
Pura Vida!
Jor
