I have thought a considerable amount this week on what God is teaching me this month here in Honduras, and what He will continue to teach me on the race. When you knock on a door like this don’t be alarmed when God answers. He welcomes you into His presence and begins to dig deep into your soul. He digs for as long as you allow Him. He Hits rocks and bumps along the way, but trust me He is the greatest archeologist in existence. He is prudent in His work on us too. If you allow Him, He won’t leave anything. Not even the smallest pebble.
I have learned a lot about digging this week because it has been the primary work of my hands. The ground here is extremely rocky so before we ever begin to dig we must first remove all the rocks and weeds in the area of excavation. After we have taken ever rock and weed that the eye can see in our area, we force the pickax to penetrate the soil. It does not take long to strike more rocks just under the surface of the topsoil. Then the process of ridding the ground of more rocks begins. You do what you must to get rid of them. You throw them over fences, where they are unable to hop back over. You load them up and wheelbarrow them off. You get rid of them!
Some of the rocks we have found appear to be small on the top, but under the surface lays a monster. Once they are out you make monuments of those rocks, because digging the monsters out of the ground takes nothing less than blood, sweat, and tears. We celebrate those victories!
Once it seems we have unearthed all the rocks visible we sift the soil for all the rocks missed. Believe me when I say that many rocks have been forgotten in the process. The dirt flows out of the grate of the sifter clean and pure for the most part.
What I have been doing is so symbolic of what God is doing in our lives if we allow him. He starts with what’s on the surface. We sometimes think this is all the baggage that we carry, but we could not be more wrong. We often look at others and see what they are outwardly struggling with and judge them for those imperfections. What we don’t know about is all the stuff big or small that lay just beneath the surface. I am challenging myself to just be willing to let God be the archeologist. I am willing and He is able.
I will celebrate in His victories!
( All Pictures taken by team mate Whitney Huntley)
(The boulder my team unearthed together)
