There was one day back in Panama that my teammates and I had kind of a rough day. I showered and was getting into bed that night when I saw Hannah writing in her journal on her bottom bunk. She said, “Today was a tough day, but before I go to bed I wanted to write down the places I undeniably saw Jesus today. Can I share these with you?”
She then proceeded to read off this lengthy list of moments Jesus was undeniably present. Many of them I was present for, but had completely overlooked his goodness. I loved this prompt and started to write lists like these at the end of the day. These are a couple of the lists I made in my journal while in Costa Rica.
Where have you seen Jesus today?
- Waking up this morning (and every morning) to a dog barking and getting to be the one that gets to greet him & feed him breakfast
- God showing me how he sees my heart in quiet time
- Rachel sharing her bug wipes with me
- Warm breakfast
- Fanni washing our dishes this morning so we wouldn’t be late to devo.
- Stephannie pouring into us so fervently and intentionally during devo.
- Marah braiding my hair.
- Louie offering to pick us up at the laundromat even though our walk wasn’t very far.
- The man at the coffee shop that taught us how to say “to go” in Spanish just for fun. (Para llevar)
- The business owner we met today offering a cold glass of water.
- The silliness of Rachel and I trying to ride a one person bike together all the way to the other side of town.
- Kayla calling out and affirming Clayton for his servant’s heart
- The cooler day today
- The life-giving conversation we had walking to the office today.
- Hannah offering Louie medicine because he was sick.
- Rach letting me use her computer to upload pictures to my blog.
- Mike making a tough situation more light-hearted
- Jesus transforming my heart from frustration to complete joy in him just by praying.
- The squad’s ability to adapt and overcome when the schedule changes. It teaches me to respond to flexibility with peace in my spirit.
- Hannah’s diligence in placing us in a ministry that catered to our individual gifts
- God placing Polly in our path tonight and the conversation Hannah and I got to have with him about God wanting a relationship with him.
- Our squad mates listening intently about our night ministry experience
- My teammate asking for accountability
- Zack surprising Hannah with peanut m&m’s
- The letter I opened from Mom
- Health and safety!
Where have you seen Jesus this month?
- Getting to feed Sammy breakfast and dinner and train him every day!
- The intentional devotionals Stephannie led for our squad
- Fanni coming early every morning to cook us breakfast
- Hannah’s intentionality to understand our spiritual gifts and place us in the different ministries accordingly
- Ocean’s Edge intentionality with us the entire month
- OE setting each team up with mentors
- Our mentors, Richard and Sue pouring into us each week
- The guys helping us carry our big packs
- Hannah teaching us to surf on our off day
- Making little tasks into big adventures
- The things God showed me during quiet time
- The letters my squad mates left me in my envelope
- The way Zach poured into the kids at Playa Azul
- Teresa showing us her heart for evangelism and taking every opportunity to pour into us
- Allen taking a break to help us translate for the homeless men
- Stephannie planning the leadership dinners
- Teresa washing the homeless men’s clothing and giving them her clothes to wear
- The team-led sessions we had on Tuesdays and Saturdays
- The redemption God brought to our team this month
- The business marketing ministry opportunity we had this month to get to hear so many stories of the locals in Jaco
- How open people were to our free marketing ministry; a lot of times in the US people would assume ulterior motive or just turn us away, but not a single business owner turned down the opportunity.
- The Lord providing the living situation that he did. Beds, plumbing, clean water to drink without having to filter it on our own
- A grocery store within walking distance
- The way the Costa Ricans annunciate their words because it makes their Spanish easier to understand and engage with
- The fact that we got to attend English speaking church services every Sunday morning
- The health and safety of everyone on our squad
I encourage you as you’re reading this to take out a piece of paper and a pen and write the places you’ve seen Jesus today, this week, or maybe this month. It may feel a little cheesy, but it’s a game changer. It is a disciplined implementation of taking your thoughts captive and steering them to the glory of God. The race is teaching me not to take even the littlest things for granted. Running water, clean clothes, food on the table, toilet paper, etc. I never realized how much I valued silly little things like ice or napkins or dryer sheets. Before the race I’d never think about how much of a privilege it was to use a paper towel to dry my hands off and think to thank God while using it. As my perspective on gratitude is shifting, I see a clearer image of the Lord. As I draw closer to him and acknowledge his goodness in the small moments of the day, I walk more in step with the spirit and feel his active pursuit of my heart.
My prayer for those reading is that you tune your heart to sing a song of praise today. I pray for reckless optimism. I pray that you find joy in the little things around you. I pray that in all circumstances you give thanks to the Lord and trust that he’s working for your good.
