“Delight does not come from discipline but discipline comes out of delight” -Jackie
One of my leaders spoke on this matter this week. Something I have been struggling with is getting up early and doing devotions. I do not lack a want to spend time with the Lord, and I genuinely want to know his word and spend time with him more. But I struggle with the aspect of it being so early ( I am not a morning person just ask my family 😉 Feeling a little defeated on the matter, I felt like devotions was something I needed to check off as a thing on my “to-do list” everyday. One of my leaders, Jackie, touched on this matter soon after. She spoke on the fact that discipline comes out of delight. She explained how when it comes to devotions, I delight in the presence of the Lord and what he teaches me. Because of that, I want to spend time with him. I can do that by spending devotions simply being with him. The delight I take in spending time with him leads me to seek more time with him which leads to discipline in spending time with him. In an opposite way, if I continue to view devotions as something that is a “chore” I will never delight in reading his word.
An example of this would be my awesome parents (always good examples 🙂 They have made date night a thing of importance in their marriage. Since before I can remember, we would have a sitter every Friday night and they would go out. Even in really busy seasons of their life. This pattern of discipline did not come out of “If we spend every Friday night together, we will grow to love each other”. No, they did this out of a desire to be together and spend quality time. Because of this, it grew into discipline out of their love for one another.
We can take this lesson in any part of our life. I desire to work out and eat healthy because I take delight in my body. I desire to call my friends every couple weeks because I delight in growing my relationships with them. Discipline will have so much more meaning, as well as be fruitful, if we work out of a heart of delight. Discipline will always come from the fruit of delight.
Guatemala update: This country is spectacularly amazing!! It is beautiful from the active volcano I can see from my room to the hearts of the people who live here. Our first full week of ministry involved hours on the roof building bunkbeds, sunny days coming home in the bed of a truck, laughing with teachers over my awful Spanish, and house visits where I met some amazing families. To say this week has been full and rewarding would be an understatement. It is amazing how much energy and peace Jesus gives you while doing work you love.
One of my favorite days this week was Thursday. We did house visits, which involved heading to my team’s village (San Lorenzo). We came upon a house where we were greeted by an older gentleman and his two grandkids. He was so sweet and showed us his nativity scene he’s been working on, which is a big deal in Guatemala! We were able to build a relationship with him and encourage him in the ways he has been striving to give his grandkids a better life. I am actually going back there Christmas Eve to see the finished product of his nativity scene 🙂 The next home was a woman and 3 of her kids. We got to talk with her and found out that she and her kids were having a very hard time with her husband being gone. He had just gotten work in the city and they did not know when they would see him again. The little boy’s birthday was the next day and he was struggling thinking of his father being gone with for it. The wife cried as she spoke about Christmas without him. We were able to comfort the family and pray with them.
The people here are so generous and readily open their doors and homes for us. They never want to disappoint (they may just give you the wrong directions if you ask how to get somewhere and they do not know!) and their love of people is so evident. Though you can see scars of a civil war that ravished the country not that long ago, you see the blessings Jesus has poured out on this beautiful country.
