Who would've thought I would feel so at home in the middle of Nicaragua?
During our month in Palacaguina, our team was fortunate enough to stay at a brand new missionary house with our host family. By brand new I mean not even finished yet. One of our projects this month was to prepare and complete the house for another team arriving at the end of March. This included painting. A lot of painting.
After we primed the entire house, we finally got to see what color we would paint the rooms. Ana pulled back the lid and I was shocked to see what color they had chosen.
Blue.
Not just any blue, but the exact same color I had painted my room at home a few months prior to the Race. It is seriously one of the most calming, beautiful colors to put in a room. What an awesome surprise.
I immediately thought of home and where my mind was when I painted with my parents. I was under the impression I would be living at home for another year while attending grad school to receive my master's in counseling psychology. Of course after that, I would get my career going, meet Ana and get married, have kids, travel a couple times out of the year, and love the comfortable American dream. Looking back, God wasn't even a part of "the plan." He was more of an afterthought.
It's incredible to think how drastically and unexpectedly my plans were turned upside down. Instead of sitting in a classroom in Colorado, I was sitting in the middle of Nicaragua on an 11-month journey around the world. And you know what? This plan was so much better than my own.
Not only did this simple can of paint remind me how much more God has in store for me, it was a little bit of comfort in the unfamiliar. I was able to lay my head down at night and almost feel like I was back in my room at home…with the exception of a constantly crowing rooster.
I'm learning that God is constantly speaking to us, in the big things and the small. We just have to listen.
