A Psalm and a Prayer
A psalm and prayer to move in the JOY of the life You have for me.
1 "Oh, the joys of those who do notfollow the advice of the wicked,or stand around with sinners,or join in with mockers.2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,meditating on it day and night.3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,bearing fruit each season.Their leaves never wither,and they prosper in all they do."
they delight in the work of the Lord
day and night, they think about His law, which is Love
they bear fruit--joy, peace, kindness, self-control, and the like
In response, I pray...for a heart that delights in bringing glory to Youfor a mind that meditates day and night on your Lovefor a life that bears fruit
Guatemalan Goodness
I've been pretty sad lately, paralyzed with missing the life I left behind to move to a foreign country, stewing in a sense of what I've lost, instead of soaking in the good, the gifts.But today I choose to see the good, to bite off the tasty fruit of this life, this fruit, this place He has given me. To rejoice in what is, not pine after what isn't. I will choose to, as Jason Todd recently wrote in an article for Relevant Magazine, "taste daily, deeply and constantly of the goodness of God."My new blogger friend, Elizabeth at Taking Shape Slowly, very eloquently wrote about this challenge to finding Home wherever we are,
"The challenge is to make ourselves at home, to live the life that is, rather than the one we had always dreamed. Praying over tender roots still unsure that they were meant to live in soil, unaware that the burlap was just the transition."
I want to let these roots of goodness grow. I will not plant bad days. I will plant hope and gratitude and grace for myself in this transition, this oh-why-is-it-taking-so-long-to-feel-at-home transition.Today I offer up a smorgasbord of the goodness of God in my life here in Guatemala, my life now, the life that is not exactly the life I dreamed, but is the life I have before me.The goodness of God is..
- a run to a cross on a hill, sweat shining, heart pounding, lungs and legs and life alive.
- a warm breeze, a volcano view, and a green picnic table turned outside office
- being walked home after a night of salsa dancing, delivered safely to my doorstep, no moves made, no disrespect, just a friend looking after a friend
- friends and family who put up with my snotty, crying homesick skype calls
- promises to flank me if I'm seen getting too friendly with a creepy guy, or a very cute, non-creepy guy that I still shouldn't be getting so friendly with. . .
- learning new salsa moves
- being challenged to give a blog training workshop in Spanish to my Guatemalan and Salvadoran coworkers--and enjoying it!
- being trusted to polish people's words, to tell their story on their behalf
- freshly folded laundry and a laundry lady who knows me by name
- a purring cat curled in my lap
- stringing together syllables of Guatemalan slang
- spontaneous cafecitos with friends I just happen to see in the park
- the anticipation of sharing this place and this life with my family when they visit in just three days!
What are you grateful for today? Where do you see the goodness of God?
Five Minute Friday: Missing Friends
Friends.What can I say--I miss them.The tears pool and I think, "my cup runneth under." In a new country, a new place, a new community where I haven't yet found community. At least how I left it in San Diego. With friends and soul sisters and fellow travelers in the journey.I'd trade the male attention and gawking and "chit chitting" noises from the men I pass in the street, and even the Spanish speaking, for a conversation with a real friend over coffee. For a heart to heart with someone who knows more than just my name and what country I'm from. For a reminder of who I was when I liked myself. Back in San Diego, where I was welcomed into so many circles, so many communities with love and acceptance I did not deserve. And I'm here in this town of transient tourists and do-gooders and missionaries and social entrepreneurs and travelers of every stripe, and I just miss home. Miss friends.I miss the friends who changed my life. Who sang a song of love over me. Who loved me when I didn't love me. Who live boldly and authentically and deeply. Who taught me to fight for my own heart. Who taught me to cradle their hearts and calm their fears. Who shifted my sarcastic spirit to one of encouragement, of uplifting, of truth telling. Who taught me how to be a friend.
And as I sit, missing and messy, I think of the people I see every day here in this town of transience. I think of their smiling and drinking and volcano climbing and volunteering and Spanish learning and how jealous I am of how happy they look, how comfortable. And I wonder if they have nights too of sitting, missing and messy.I wonder how I can be a friend.***This post is part of Lisa Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday writing challenge. To learn more about Five Minute Friday and how you can participate click here.