Space for God

Hi.  It's Courtney again.

We've been in Peru for almost 2 months now, and one thing that I've been thinking about (and amazed at) is how much more I feel God's presence here than at home.  Wheras at home I looked forward to church on Sundays and Bible study on Wednesdays, here I yearn and count the days until our praise and worship time on Sunday nights and get excited about getting up an hour early for our group prayer and devotions time.

Every time I open my Bible, Scripture seems so alive--so much more so than before.  I see God's fingerprints in the lives of the kids and other volunteers here--God is just everywhere here.

I'm not sure exactly why coming to Peru has made this change.  It could be because i'm here working with some wonderful Christian people who have let their lives be led so masterfully by the Spirit and who are dedicated to being who God wants them to be.  It could be also because I'm just so much needier here than I was in the States.  For example, when David spiked a high fever which refused to go away, I had no 24 hour nurse phone line to call and ask what to do.  I had no convenient ER or Urgent care center with competent doctors who spoke my language, but what  I did have was God right there next to me.  (Thankfully, our internet was also working so I could get David's mom on Skype, but I digress.)  Here in Peru, prayer has become a much higher priority to me, and along with that, much more of a blessing.  I find myself turning to God here much more quickly than I did when we were living fairly predictable lives in the States.

As I'm writing and thinking, I'm realizing that our lives, no matter where we call home, are unpredictable.  I have no more control over my life in the United States than I do over my life here in Peru--I simply feel less in control here.  I guess that sometimes we like to trick ourselves into feeling like we have everything under control when this is just not true. I may have more resources available in the States, but I'm still just as vulnerable and needy as I am when I'm in the desert of Peru.  I need God so desperately in both places, I just feel it more helpless here.

In our praise and worship time on Sunday nights, one of the songs we sing most often is Joel Houston's "From the Inside Out." The chorus of this song always reminds me how much I am made for God, and how awesome of a God He is:
"Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, Lord, my soul cries out...to You."

-C