peace. joy. deepness in understanding.
The couches. So much happens here. We’ve had our fair share of craziness; killing mice or swing dancing, squad movie nights where movies seem funnier than they are late at night.
But there are also some beautiful, quiet moments. Moments like when you wake up before the sun, and sit shivering on the thin cushion, but you persevere because you are so hungry for Papa’s words of wisdom. Or when you watch in awe as the simply constructed wood becomes the steady ledge for which a painter needs to create her masterpiece. The closeness of community, as you share music that seeps deep into your soul, calling out to the feeling you didn’t know you needed to feel. The deep, deep, joy that comes just from sitting, listening to a gentle picking of a guitar, and watching the face of a teammate receive beautiful revelation from Abba. The open bibles testimonies of growth, and journals filled with memories of pressed flowers and prayers.
They’re more than just couches; it’s the people that make them what they are.
Constant community can be difficult; but oh how I love it. Every person has a story uniquely written by the King of Kings. Every person has gentle features of generations, work upon work leading up to their child pouring out their God’s heart for other people. Every person has so much beauty. So much life. So much color. When you are in a place that brings so many essays of life together, you get to see the stunning differences that make them unique.
This is a place where God’s children can choose to collide their lives, and share the profound woodwork of the Father in their history. Where no one is afraid to be who they are, because they know their identity is in Jesus and that’s all that matters. Living from the kingdom and for the kingdom, in the world but not of it. Pressing on toward to goal that everyone we meet experiences the love of Jesus; we know it changed our lives, we want it to change theirs.
The couches and community. Chaos and calm. Deepness of joy and sorrow, worship, surrender, obedience, and true life given by the Father; all into a little space. With years and years of revelation gracing these walls, God’s love seeps through the seams; flowing into a flood of adoration.
Sitting on this couch, I can’t help but thank Jesus for the times I’ve spent here. I don’t have long left in Guatemala, but oh how it has been fruitful. Thank you Jesus for guiding me in stillness, observing the beauty in others when they do what they love, and crushing the life of comparison.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Kori Moon
Worship song: Rest On Us by Harvest and Jon Thurlow
verse: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” – John 17:3
