“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10
I feel like my team has seen a lot of the ultimate Thief the last few weeks. Not in the people around us, they are truly a blessing, but in circumstances and in our personal lives. It seems that each one of us has felt sought out by the enemy as he replays old shame tapes, brings up past lies spoken over us, and drags insecurities to the surface of our consciousness. In short, it’s been really hard. Being vulnerable can be one of the toughest obstacles when Satan whispers in your ear that no one cares anyway. Your struggles are insignificant. You’re replaceable. You’re invisible.
Notice that steal and kill and destroy part? Yeah, the enemy is pretty good at that. He delights in pulling us away from communion with the Father. Why wouldn’t he try everything he could to do just that?
Yesterday was our day off so we went to Heredia to see what the Holy Spirit could do if we allowed Him. We sat down around a tree with beautiful pink flowers growing on it and began to pray. Our prayers turned to songs of worship and we watched the people around us, waiting for a prompt from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is new to me. I’ve always been taught it was only meant for Biblical times, so this whole exercise was kind of awkward.
In the middle of my theological internal battle, I noticed a homeless man walk by. He peeped in to a trash can, pulled out a plastic grocery bag, and continued to saunter towards a gated water fountain. I watched as he sang and hopped the fence to gain access to the water within. In my mind I knew he’d get arrested for trespassing and tried to look away so as not to be rude, it wasn’t my business. No matter what I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about this man and every few minutes I’d find myself watching him again as he washed plastic flower pots in the fountain. I tried to shake my curiosity and when Jordie asked if I wanted to take a lap around the park, I eagerly accepted her offer, anything to get my mind off of this man. Little did I know her heart had been stirred for this man as well.
We began to walk and I felt Jordie moving towards this man. Great, I thought, exactly what I was trying to avoid. At first he didn’t notice us there but Jordie pressed on, adamant about talking to this man. I nervously looked back to the rest of our team, worried about what we were getting ourselves in to. Those nerves quickly melted away as we began talking to this man in broken Spanglish. He spoke (even though at times he was incoherent), I translated, Jordie responded, and that cycle continued for awhile as Jennie Kate and Jordan joined our little pow-wow. We offered to pray for him but he instead serenaded us with a song about having God with him every day.
Jorge Antonio continually said, “Yo no tengo nada, pero tengo a Jesús y eso es suficiente.” I have nothing, but I have Jesus and that is enough. Over and over and over.
We blessed him and he blessed us in return and as we rejoined the rest of our team they, too, had found a new friend. This man approached Victoria and Erin asking for prayer because he was sad. His wife had recently left him and took their children. Even though he had these tough things going on, you couldn’t help but feel his joy. He also had a phrase he repeated multiple times during our conversation. “Vivir es Cristo, morir es ganancia.” To live is Christ, to die is gain.
Wow. In the span of 20 minutes, God taught our team mighty things through two strangers that don’t speak our language. You see, the verse above doesn’t end with the enemy. Christ goes on to say “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” We’re not meant to just live. We’re meant to live ABUNDANTLY, no matter the situation or circumstance.
It took a man with no earthly possessions and a man who had recently lost the things he loved most to wake me up. The enemy can pull whatever tricks he wants. He can try to break my spirit and break our team unity. But my God is bigger and by walking with Him daily I can have tangible joy despite my struggles and short comings. What more could I ask for?
Love always & pura vida!
Katie
