Psalm 34:1-3 “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!”
Even though thanksgiving has already come and gone, I want to take the time to write a blog about thankfulness today. After a few pretty crazy travel days, my whole squad has made it to Guatemala, and we’ve spent the past few days settling in to the place that will be our home for the next three months. We’ve been here for less than a week, and I already feel like I have a million things to praise God for. He’s shown up time and time again, constantly proving his faithfulness, and for that I want to praise him.
For starters, I’m extremely thankful to be on the race. I’ve experienced more joy over the past few months than ever before in my life, and I know it’s all because of God. The other day a few of my teammates and I were talking about how crazy it is that we are actually here living this life. A year ago during this time, I was praying over and over to God to show me what I was supposed to do this year. And now I’m living the answer to that prayer. It’s just so crazy to wrap my head around. The things I prayed for are happening. God is faithful. God is answering his promise to have the perfect plan for my life.
I’m also incredibly thankful to be here in Guatemala. This country is beautiful. The mountains, the sky, the trees and birds, the cities and streets, it’s all beauty. But the people’s hearts are even more beautiful. I feel so welcomed here, I feel like I’m home. I’m learning that home is more than a place or a people, it’s wherever God is (my friend Maddie just wrote a blog about home — it’s really good, you should go read it).
And the base where my squad is staying, it’s amazing. The staff here has already poured so much wisdom into my life, and I’ve only heard them talk a few times. I can tell they love us and are excited to grow in faith alongside us. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be. My entire squad has talked about feeling so much peace since we arrived here. It’s a blessing.
I’m thankful for my squad. For these forty people doing life with me. They are my family. They are my friends. I’ve never been a part of such an amazing community before. There hasn’t been a moment where I’ve felt alone or unheard since starting the race. The wall by my bed is covered in notes people on the squad have written me. Some have a word, some have a beautiful water color painting, some have a verse. Some are funny, written about the friendships we’ve formed. Some are prayers, written from other teams when we were apart during the past month in Peru. More than once I’ve heard my name and turned around to find a friend holding out a treat or small gift they found while out in the city that reminded them of me. When someone is sick or having a hard day we make them tea or a card only to find that three other people on the team had the exact same idea and now there are more cups of tea than we know what to do with. This community desires to love and serve one another. It’s not something we have to make ourselves do either, it just happens. I can’t even describe it. This family is unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of. I’m so thankful for it.
I’m really grateful for unplanned moments of seeking God. Just last night, our squad gathered for a quick announcement about what time squad church would be today, and it turned into a two hour long worship and prayer session. All it takes is one person saying it felt like God wanted us to sing this song, and it turns into the most powerful worship night I’ve ever experienced. Sometimes someone mentions they are having a hard day, and next thing you know nine people are gathered around praying for them. Sometimes it’s midnight, and a few people are outside looking at the stars, and then we’re all talking about God and praying for an hour. I love these moments so much.
“every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise”
“bless the Lord oh my soul and let all that’s within me shout out, shout out”
“I am counting every blessing, letting go and trusting when I cannot see”
We’ve been singing these songs a lot lately, and the words speak so much truth. God is a God of endless blessings. He’s constantly pouring out his favor on us, we just have to choose to receive it. I’m choosing to be thankful today. To praise God for every blessing he gives me. To praise him for conversations in broken Spanish with our cook, Sondra, as she tries to teach me how to make a tortilla and laughs when I make a mess of it. To praise him for little things like foot tall baby christmas trees from the thrift store. To praise him for skies of a million beautiful stars. To praise him for kind teammates who offer to wash some of your laundry for you while you work on writing a blog. To praise him for beautiful nights of worship. For paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. For leaders who remind us that God loves us. For bus drivers who help us find the right stop. For teammates surprise birthday parties that consist of a lot of dancing. For ministry hosts who invite us to their Christmas party on our first day here. For hundreds of plates of tamales to pass out to hungry families.
For this life he has given me, I will praise him.
