Month one of round two.
It still continues to blow my mind that the Lord not only gave me the opportunity to follow Him around the world but has now entrusted me a year later to lead a group on a journey similar to my own- a journey that radically changed my relationship with God and reshaped the way I live my life. This month, I am living in Sabanilla, Costa Rica and working with an incredible organization called Transforma. Already I have fallen in love with the beautiful landscape and the amazing people here. This is a place that I know will hold a piece of my heart long after I leave.
One day each week, our ministry visits the homes of women in the community who want prayer. We had the opportunity to join them on their home visits this week. Before leaving, we were encouraged to simply sit with the Lord and ask Him to give us something to share with one of the women we were going to visit.
As I sat, an image of a bright yellow umbrella popped into my mind. In this scene, it was raining heavily and so the umbrella was opened, protecting the woman standing underneath. She looked up and recognized that the umbrella she was holding was God shielding her from the storms of life. Unsure of what to do with what the Lord showed me, I shared what I had seen with my team before setting off to make our visits.
The first home we entered was one made of tin nestled in between similar looking houses built alongside of a steep hill. The woman who lived there told us about her family and how God had changed her life. She rocked her baby as we prayed blessings over her home and thanked God for her incredible family. We talked for awhile until she had to leave for an appointment. It had started to rain, so the woman turned around and grabbed her umbrella.
A bright yellow umbrella.
Through a translator, I was able to tell her about the picture that the Lord gave me specifically for her. She thanked me with watery eyes and we hugged before we parted ways. Since then, I have seen the woman with the yellow umbrella a handful of times. We share a few words, broken Spanish and gestures on my end, and always a hug. In those brief interactions rests a joy in remembrance- of a time when the Lord used a yellow umbrella to show His unfailing love.
