“What is the Lord teaching you lately?” is a common question that gets asked at our meal table here in Bogota. Its such a cool way to process our experiences. Although our team serves and spends all our days together the diversity in the lessons we’re learning is crazy.
Lately I’ve really felt the rug of my world pulled out from under me. The comforts of home, things I’ve mistakenly thought I needed are gone. It’s scary and freeing. The days can feel long and tiring where I think ‘I signed up for this?!’ and yet the weeks fly by and I think ‘I can’t leave, my heart will break’.
Before getting here the list of things I “needed” was long. I thought I needed my job. It was my identity. When people meet you the first thing they ask is what you do. I thought I needed a schedule/routine. I like waking up at the same time everyday and I enjoy fitting things into their respective time slots or calendar boxes. Church on Sunday, class on tuesday, work monday through friday, study on wednesday, etc. My life now however has no two days looking alike; I could be helping out in the kitchen peeling potatoes one day to the next just sitting with the kids and maybe helping with some math homework (I can feel you laughing right now but me and long division are getting along better..I think, the last paper I helped with only got one wrong!) I thought I needed to come here speaking the language. Don’t get me wrong I love words and its hard to be limited to the vocabulary of a small child but there are so many ways to break the barrier. I also read somewhere that everyone everywhere is more like us than less like us. And its sweet the connections being made without speaking each others language fluently. I thought I needed a road wide enough for both sides of traffic but nope somehow we’ve made it safely to and from. (I often feel like I’m on that bus from Harry Potter that squeezes in on itself) I really really really thought I needed to be in close proximity to my family. I don’t feel isolated with the incredible and passionate community surrounding me here. I also thought I needed Target. Breaking from my weekly target runs has been tough but beneficial.
The Lord is teaching me that life is sweeter when I let go of the things I’ve held so tightly to. God is faithful. I can trust in his character even when my hands are empty. In my changing world I can always depend on my unchanging God.
P.S. My team got our assignment for next month! We will have a little family reunion living with our whole squad. My team & I will be working with Pan De Vida and helping with their feeding program.
