Making Room
I recently discovered a new word that I really like: perichoresis. It means “mutual indwelling without loss of personal identity,” and often refers to the way that God exists in the Trinity. It also has deep meaning for how God relates to us. He dwells in us, puts His very Spirit in us, and yet allows us to remain uniquely ourselves. God transforms us and redeems us, but He also loves us just as we are. He delights and celebrates in the way that we are all unique. He loves our freckles, dimples, and senses of humor. We can welcome Christ’s presence in our lives, and uniquely… Read more >>
Expecting the Unexpected
I’ve been learning a lot about hope. What does it mean to expect God to show up, even when it doesn’t look like He will? How do I recognize Him when He does? God appears in this world in so many ways, most of them unexpected. I love being caught off-guard, as I see his humor in a new friend, or am struck by the beauty of sun hitting the landscape just right. Coming into this adventure, I had no idea what I was getting into. I couldn’t imagine what my living situation would look like, or who I would spend my Friday nights with. I knew almost nothing about the local cuisine; I couldn’t even… Read more >>
Living Here is Hard
Living here is hard. My initial hopefulness has faded. Gone is that girl who saw beauty in every little thing. I feel like Naomi, who said to her friends, “Instead call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.” (Ruth 1:20) I am carrying a sorrow from being here, that doesn’t come from one specific thing. It’s not just that I’m missing family and familiar things, or that here community is hard and values are different. All those things are happening at once, and I feel weary. Like I’m constantly at the end of my rope. Facing each day is a challenge because it requires… Read more >>
Trusting Him to Write the Story
How did you end up here? That’s a question I get asked a lot, in various forms and various contexts. To local people, my simple answer is that I want to learn about your language and culture. To my other expat/worker friends, I share more of my story and God’s leading. It still doesn’t entirely explain it. Even when I examine my whole life, everything God has spoken to me and done in me, there’s still unknowns about why God brought me here. A year and a half ago, when I first started this journey, I was deeply in love with another culture. I was studying abroad in Chile—… Read more >>