"Looking Up" - Guest Blogger

I'm pleased to share a recent post from a "Guest Blogger".  Jen Wilson and her family, long time friends and members of my church, are in their first year serving with AMG in Guatemala.  She offers the following observation as she settles into her new life serving God in the foreign mission field.  Her comments are just as applicable to those of us working in the local mission field.  She's given me permission to share her thoughts with you.

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As we were driving to school a few weeks ago, I was struggling with a few things. I was also overwhelmed at the daunting thought of what was ahead of me that day. I was struggling with being in Guatemala when friends and family at home were having children.  And, also loved ones at home were dying.   I was overwhelmed with the daunting thought of all that needed to be done that day: language school, cleaning, cooking, and shopping.  All stuff in a normal day, but we are in the midst of a language barrier here. I was praying that I would have a better outlook on the day, and that I would not be thinking of things at home, but rather of things here in Guatemala.  I was praying that I would see outside of my world, that I would see the bigger picture.  Not many of you reading this have actually been to Guatemala, but some of you have.  Pictures do it no justice.  Let me tell you what happened when I opened my eyes.  We were coming off a mountain into the city where we go everyday for language, and as we rounded the corner right in front of me was the most spectacular view of a volcano.  It was just purely magnificent!  And at that moment, I thought to myself, I need to keep looking up!  I see this beautiful volcano everyday and many others like it.  I see the natural beauty all around me every day here in Guatemala.  You need to look up to see the mountains and the volcanoes. When you look down you see the trash and the filth.

Where am I going with this?  When we look at the little things, the “trash” that is around us every day, we can (I can) get so overwhelmed that I forget what needs to be done.  And I forget the purpose of why I am doing things. Is it still hard to be away from home and not grieving with friends?  YES!  Is it still hard being away from home and not rejoicing with friends?  YES!  Is it hard being 3000 miles from family as my father-in-law walked into the arms of Jesus?  YES!!  BUT, we have the hope and promise that we will one day be together again. We are here in Guatemala serving our loving sovereign Lord.  We have a hope!  We need to share that hope with a lost and dying world.  We need to focus on Jesus and not on the “trash” that is lying in our path.  We need to focus on the people around us and their souls, not on the daunting daily tasks.... We need to look at opportunities that God places in our lives.   Who do I talk to in the grocery store?  Who do we talk with when our washing machine is being fixed?  Who do we talk to at the market when we buy our fruits and vegetables?  These are people who need to hear of the love of the Savior who came just for them.  And when I am focusing on looking up, I know I can definitely see a difference in how I look at the day ahead of me.

Are you looking up?

[The Wilson family blog]