Saturday, March 1, 2014

The Kingdom of God in the Hidden Things


Hello friends! Hope you are all doing well! Things in Honduras continue to be happy and hot - summer has begun to arrive in full force! Sorry to all those suffering through this horrifically never-ending winter up north! The end is in sight!!

A few random thoughts from Thanksgiving to Christmas that I recently found in my journal:

The other day, I took a quick little nap after lunch, when I woke up to hear Jamie and Omar, two missionaries in our community, discussing about going to minister at San Benito (the hospital run by the Franciscan Friars). Jamie wanted to go, but Omar didn’t have time. had time…but I wanted to keep sleeping! I determined to fake sleep and let it pass. But then it hit me – this is the reality of choosing between the “kingdom of myself” or the Kingdom of God. Deciding to serve myself, or God and his poor. This is the Kingdom of God. It may be so small and quiet and imperceptible, but this is truly the Kingdom of God! This is the victory that Jesus won for us – the ability to liberate ourselves from our own selfishness and agendas, in order to serve God and to put others first; even when it gets in the way of my plans, my desires, my self.
So I decided to get off my lazy bum and offer to go with Jamie. Such a simple action, but God taught me such an important lesson. His Kingdom may be small and easy to miss (just as He said it would be!), but it is here and it is real! And when we allow it to take root in our heart, it will transform us.


Prayer really works! I had really been struggling with a particular person that I know. Almost everything that this person did got on my nerves! But I decided, instead of playing out in my head over and over again exactly what I wanted to say to this person, I would pray for them. Even though I really didn’t want to, and it cost me a great deal. And very quickly something amazing happened…our relationship changed! Not overnight, but pretty rapidly! I was shocked. I’m trying to better understand where this person is coming from or why they react the way they do. And since then we’ve had many beautiful encounters. Sometimes we just need to ask in order to receive! Another experience of the Kingdom of God!

Two of my great friends, Cheryl and Kari, came down to visit me over Thanksgiving. It was a truly blessed and super fun time! Both Cheryl and Kari had collected tons of donations to bring to the mission, many of them for one family in particular. This was the family of Sergio, an 8 year old handicapped boy that I do physical therapy with each week. Sergio can’t talk or walk, but you can tell that he understands some of what you’re saying. His mother and siblings love him very much. So the day after Thanksgiving we went to Sergio’s house to give them all of the gifts the girls had collected. It literally felt like Christmas. We were in this tiny one room cinderblock house, but as Cheryl and Kari gave out their gifts and the family received them with joy and gratitude, I just felt like I was back at my own home on Christmas morning. The Kingdom of God strikes again!

After visiting home for Christmas, I went to Nicaragua to visit friends before heading back to Honduras. During my entire flight from Atlanta to Managua, there was one single star right outside my window. I was surprised we couldn’t see more. After all, it was night and we were above the clouds. Then all of a sudden the cabin lights when off, and a million brilliant stars popped out. - So often we just need a change in perspective to see the beautiful realities that are truly there. God, give us wisdom and clarity to see the beauty that we so often overlook!

Peace friends! Praying for you!
Eric

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