hey! welcome back to my lil corner of the internet!
something i’ve really enjoyed about our ministry here in guatemala is that we get a lot of opportunity to hang out with sweet kiddos. i’ve spent a lot of time playing soccer & pato pato ganzo, laughing when i don’t fully understand their spanish, trying to teach them some english, & just loving on them. i truly believe there is an overflow of learning that comes from children.
lately i’ve been noticing the perspective kids have on eternity. & that’s kinda a big thing to say, but i really just mean that they live with this persistent joy that’s really beautiful. every time they tell me “otra vez, otra vez” (again, again) i wonder how they can possibly still have the will & energy to do something that feels so repetitive to me, but that’s just one of the epic parts of being a kid. the good stuff doesn’t get boring, it actually just gets sweeter & deeper with God. & time just isn’t as scary cause there’s plenty of it. & energy feels fresh & abundant in the kingdom because you’re tapping from the source of life. & there’s always more to look forward to. that’s how eternity is.
i also can’t help but smile when i’m around them. & that’s the way God looks at us too. He can’t help but smile because He holds us so incredibly close to His heart.
i also love that there’s simultaneously space to be a child of God and grow into being a friend of Jesus. i think of the relationship my parents & i are learning to hold. one where there’s room for me to come & ask for help (& really just be their kid) & one where i also get to be their friend as i get older. & dang what a sweet place to be in. the both/and of this is incredibly beautiful to me. we get to have the perspective & heart of a child while also being invited into partnership with Him.
the perspective of a child also looks like stepping into the world with wide eyes & a head full of curiosity. it means showing up lots of wonder & awe. not always knowing everything, or many things at all & being okay with that. for there is time & space to grow into more with our Father.
“Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? the fruit of the womb, His generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.” (Psalm 127v3-5 msg translation)
anywhos those are just a few of the things my young friends have been teaching me. pretty thankful for the opportunity to know them & love them. i can’t believe the goodbyes are coming, but my squad is headed to costa rica at the beginning of april!
love you big,
erika
