At WR launch we were given a book called The Journey to track our months and what God is doing in them. There is a part of the book is called this is what I am abandoning where you write an object you are leaving behind each month, what it symbolizes, and the story surrounding the object. I opened the book not thinking this would be the section I fill out, but low and behold it was. So this is what I wrote.
This month, the memento I am leaving is my Water Bottle. Honestly not something I planned to leave, but I lost it (And one of the bandannas that I randomly tied to it). I think it fell out of the tap tap on our way back from a home visit. After losing my water bottle any time we would go out near the road we took when I lost it, I would keep my eyes out for it. Like I was going to miraculously find it on the side of the road waiting for me… How silly?
Anyways after many trips and looking at all the trash on the side of the road I still have not found my water bottle. Honestly I want to be able to say I stopped looking, but for some reason a little part of me is always searching for that teal water bottle with a red bandanna attached to it. (I describe it as if I am hoping one of you are going to find it. Haha) There are a couple things I realized with this water bottle. First, I have to believe I lost it for a reason and that whoever found it was blessed by it and the bandanna. I believe this for two reasons. God uses all things for good and I had no real reason to tie my bandanna to my water bottle that day. It is something i have never done before, I just saw it sitting on my bed and was like yeah I’ll bring this random bandanna with me on the house visits. (Not much thought went into it at the time)
Second thing I realized is that on these many rides through the streets of Mirebalais I have been staring at the trash on the side of the road for something so small. God is most definitely showing me something through this, one of those life lessons that He seems to keep having to teach me. That is that sometimes He helps me let go of things then I go digging through the trash for it and while digging through all that trash I am missing the view. After my mind wasn’t so set on finding my water bottle on every ride we took I began to look up and around. I began to see the beautiful people along the streets, the children giggling at the white blonde girl going by, and the breathe taking views of His creation.
I see how that while I was searching through the trash I was missing what God had for me and oh how many times I do this in life. I take my eyes off what God has and look for what I want. My prayer is that this is a lesson I no longer have to be taught over and over again. That my eyes, heart, thoughts, and life are for Christ and Christ alone. I pray that I let the trash be trash and never again miss out on the view of God!
