I knew God was speaking to me, but there were too many things going on in the background to put together what he wanted to tell me.
It was like he was standing on the other side of a busy street. We made eye contact, and I saw his lips move, but the passing diesel trucks, motorcycles and buses passing by drowned out any sound that came from him.
I feel like even if I could hear him, it would be in another language. It would be like trying to understand when someone speaks to me in Spanish.
As it turns out, he was speaking Spanish.
I heard in a worship song the word conmigo, “with me.” When I heard and sang that word, I remembered a message I heard a few weeks ago about the story of Jesus sleeping through a storm, and how his disciples forgot that the Son of God was with them. I remembered another Spanish worship song I heard the night before:
“Puedo volar si estás conmigo.”
“I can fly if you are with me.”
Conmigo, that is what he was trying to tell me. I could at last hear him. He wanted me to know he was not on the other side of the street, but he was with me.
Such a simple message. One word—conmigo. Not even an eloquent word.
I have to use simple words here in Costa Rica. I can only talk like a very young child (infant) in Spanish. This month, most people speak English, which is a nice change. However, we still use a translator in chapel, and I remember from my trip to the Amazon that when you use a translator you should try not to use obscure words or figures of speech that don’t translate over well. It’s best to be safe and to use simple words.
Thankfully, though, God fills simple words with power. Through the simple words God inspires we are able to feel what cannot be described or understood.
How does he do that?
I remembered a line from Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. The book is about the movie adaptation of the author’s memoir. In this part, he is telling the story of when his friend was upset because his daughter was dating a really disrespectful guy.
The scene from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years:
“You know what else, man?” Jason said. “She broke up with her boyfriend last week. She had his picture on her dresser and took it down and told me he said she was too fat. Can you believe that? What a jerk.”
“A jerk,” I agreed.
“But that’s done now,” Jason said, shaking his head. “No girl who plays the role of a hero dates a guy who uses her. She knows who she is. She just forgot for a little while.”
End scene.
“She knows who she is. She just forgot for a little while.”
I also thought of something I learned about Plato during a rhetoric class. In one of his dialogues, Socrates systematically comes to the conclusion that before birth, we know what truth is from past lives, and at birth we simply forget. When we find truth, we are not gaining new knowledge, but rather remembering what we have already known. He calls it reminiscence, and it is something close to that idea, anyway.
I think his theory of reminiscence is a bunch of bologna, but it helped understand something else.
As Christians, we know the Holy Spirit is with us. He knows everything. And he guides us.
That is why God only needs one word. A simple word.
When God shows us something, he isn’t showing us the edge of a dense, unexplored forest. He shows us the entrance of a trail that has been cleared and marked, that has been walked already.
When God speaks, he is only reminding us of the truth that is already in our hearts.
That is why he only had to use one word to let me understand what I thought I could not. One word to tell me he was with me, Conmigo.
I wanted to thank all of my supporters for making this growing time in my life possible.
In order to stay out on the field on the World Race, I must reach financial deadlines to cover the cost of food, lodging, visa fees, supplies and transportation. I am currently about $1,000 away from the December 1st deadline. If you feel led to give, click “Support Me!” on the left panel on this page. You can also mail a check and avoid processing fees. For that option be sure to write “For Stephanie Ransom” in the memo line and make the check payable to:
Adventures in Missions
PO Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
Thank you all so much again!
-Stephanie
