I flipped through an old journal, and read what I once wrote, "life is a rollercoaster. Rollercoasters can break down, but they can also be fixed. So ride the rollercoaster [of life] to get fixed!"
My surroundings in Guatemala teach me a lot about life. The simplicity and nature of it [life] seem to be different than what we tend to think of it as...because it's most common for us to think of life, I think, in terms of achievements, accomplishments, belongings, i.e. essentially the things we can do in life. Guatemala teaches me about the basics of life. It helps me to understand a passage, like Matthew 6, which refers to dealing with worries and anxiousness, or the lack thereof.
Culturally, I cannot relate to the passage...it talks about not worrying about having enough food to eat or clothes to wear (I've never had to worry about that). However, it does help me reflect on many of the worries, or roller coasters, I find myself dealing with, which are often caused by me doing things other than the basics. It helps me understand the power of being able to do without our own understandings, because we can be strengthened by our dependence on God. If he cares for the 'lilies of the field' and the birds, certainly he will provide our needs.
But here's the thing. We often struggle in wanting to be healed or provided with what/how we want. We have these expectations of how God should help us. The passage doesn't promise anything other than the basics, the minimum for a life of survival, to be cared for. No wonder we find ourselves at a life low when we neglect that in our attempts to go beyond...
My surroundings in Guatemala teach me a lot about life. The simplicity and nature of it [life] seem to be different than what we tend to think of it as...because it's most common for us to think of life, I think, in terms of achievements, accomplishments, belongings, i.e. essentially the things we can do in life. Guatemala teaches me about the basics of life. It helps me to understand a passage, like Matthew 6, which refers to dealing with worries and anxiousness, or the lack thereof.
Culturally, I cannot relate to the passage...it talks about not worrying about having enough food to eat or clothes to wear (I've never had to worry about that). However, it does help me reflect on many of the worries, or roller coasters, I find myself dealing with, which are often caused by me doing things other than the basics. It helps me understand the power of being able to do without our own understandings, because we can be strengthened by our dependence on God. If he cares for the 'lilies of the field' and the birds, certainly he will provide our needs.
But here's the thing. We often struggle in wanting to be healed or provided with what/how we want. We have these expectations of how God should help us. The passage doesn't promise anything other than the basics, the minimum for a life of survival, to be cared for. No wonder we find ourselves at a life low when we neglect that in our attempts to go beyond...
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