It’s in the simple things. My older sister always says this and I’d venture to say that God would agree. I think God likes to show us more of himself when we lean a little closer and abide in Him a little longer. Yes, our God is a big and mighty God, but He also is in all of our minute and mundane moments. A verse that I have memorized recently is Zephaniah 3:17, which states, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” This verse has been teaching me a lot about God’s character and how He views us.
God has also been teaching me a lot about how He loves to give good gifts to His children. Yes, the Creator is way more important than the created, but the gifts will often point us back to the Father. So I wanted to share a few ways that God has been lavishing my teammates and I with good things. And disclaimer: some of these things might not seem that big or spectacular, but I’ve discovered even in the simple, little things we can find God.
In Ukraine, my teammate, Megan, had been craving some red grapes when one day one of our English students brought us in a large platter of red and green grapes from his orchard. They were delicious! Another way He lavished me with a good gift was by going to a beach in Greece at the beginning of this month. Greece has always been my dream vacation, so I was elated when our host said he would take us for our three adventure days this month. Not only that, but I got to sit with the Lord and watch two GORGEOUS sunrises while there. And if you know me well, you probably know that sunrises and sunsets are some of my favorite things.
Another way God showed me his goodness this month was actually during the second night we were in Romania. A few of us were in the kitchen hanging out and joking around when I took a drink out of my water bottle and laughed at the same time. And as you might guess, I started to choke on my water and couldn’t catch my breath. The last thing I remember was dropping my water bottle on the ground and then when I woke up I was a little disoriented for a few moments. I had apparently passed out after I dropped my water and fell straight back on the tile floor. I had hit my head pretty hard on the threshold of the door and was gasping for air for a few seconds. After I woke up my teammates made sure I was okay and prayed over me. You might be asking why I’m sharing this in a blog about God’s goodness? Well, aside from a slight headache and bruised elbows, I was completely fine! I did not have any problems- no concussion or even a bump on my head from the fall. God was certainly with me and protected me from getting hurt.
It has been so cool to see God show up in so many small ways and I am excited to see what other ways He will show up in the upcoming months. As we near the end of our all-squad month here in Romania, I am getting sad at the realization that we will soon have to leave Draganesti. It has been such a great month so far with our host, Hope Church. The members of this church are so dedicated to sharing the love of Christ with their communities and have set up many programs to help out Southern Romania. What they are doing with so little is incredible and I can tell the Holy Spirit is blessing their efforts. For example, we have already seen five people accept Christ into their hearts this month! Praise God! I will write another blog in the next week or so describing more about what ministry is like here in Romania, but until then check out Hope Church’s website to see what all they are up to! (http://www.hoperomania.org)
