We are in our second week of being in Swaziland, and I must say that I love it here! First of all, we are on top of a mountain overlooking a beautiful countryside that is Swaziland. Secondly, my ministry for the month is construction/manual labor = Dave is very, very happy!!! Lastly, each squad member is paired with an orphan for the month (we are staying at an orphanage). My kid, 6 year old Masotja, picked ME out from day one and for some reason he is crazy about me, that makes him super easy to love. Just before coming into town to post this blog, I gave him a marble I picked up in Moldova (the other kids had marbles and he didn't), and just giving him ONE marble made his day!!! But this blog isn't about Masotja, but I promise you one will be on the way about him…
Just the other day I was sitting next to the duck pond at the orphanage we are staying at and staring at the mud. I was looking at the water/mud wishing I had a handful of GI Joes with me (if you know me, that doesn't sound weird at all). I was looking at the MUD/WATER instead of the beautiful mountains that surround the pond!!! I have realized multiple times during this trip that I don't always look up in life and see the bigger picture. This also happened in Nepal when we were whitewater rafting in the foothills of the Himalayas. There I was too concentrated on the rafting and the water, instead of the breathtaking valleys we were rafting through. Yes seeing the littler things in life is valuable too, but not if that is always how you view everything…
I am beginning to see that I dissect God instead of taking Him at face value. For me, I think that breaking down God makes him more real for me… Yes, it's good to make God real for yourself, but in the process I have made him "real." The "real" God that I have created in my mind has flaws and shortcomings that just don't make sense, just like all the other "real" people I know… God is REAL, but He doesn't have any flaws, shortcomings, or sins!!! When I begin to break down God I begin to create a God that isn't Biblical, a God that isn't the real God of the universe. I need to start seeing God with wider lenses, and not microscope lenses. Yes, if you begin to break down God, as I have found out, you will find questions and things that just don't add up. However our God calls us to have faith and believe in him with an OPEN heart, just like He loves us!
So through this trip I am trying to look up more in life to see the bigger picture and view God as a whole instead of breaking up down into nothingness…
