A Week of Wonder

"Never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder and He gave it to me." -Abraham Joshua Heschel

Close to where I am staying, the lighthouse above, sits perched high atop a hill. No matter where I am, I can see this lighthouse and use it to guide me home. Day or night, this lighthouse is a beacon of hope and direction that has often guided me home.  It serves as a visual reminder of Jesus' words in Matthew 5 of how a city on a hill cannot be hidden. In the daytime the hilltop is clearly visible for miles around and at night the light pierces the darkness as it circles the skies. Like the lighthouse, I have found God's wonder inescapable and always present despite my surroundings.

This past sunday night I was blessed to again visit believers in Buena Vista and after the service the night took a turn for the amazing. We were invited to the house of one of the families for dinner and we graciously accepted. There we talked and ate fresh fish from the father's catch and then left around midnight to meet some of the others from the group back at the beach. In the moonlight we fished and talked about life. As the night wore on we fell asleep under the stars to the sound of the gentle rolling waves and the occasional manta ray jumping out of the water. It was here that I found myself lost in wonder. I felt myself shrinking under the multitude of stars above me and together we speculated how big God must be to be able to create all that we saw. How wonderful it was to know that the creator of the Heavens cares deeply about us and was there with the five of us that night.

Back in Cabo the next day, I found myself again in wonder. Every week, Isaias, a member of the church, holds a bible study dinner at his house and I was blessed to be invited this week. Along with two church members and their wives, we sat with Roberto, a new believer and two non-believers that had been invited. Like the lighthouse, these believers joy and hope were unable to be hidden. For hours they spoke from the heart about the times of hardship and difficulty in their lives. Each story of difficulty was followed by the encouragement that Christ is with us and we have life in Him. As I listened and stirred my glass of horchata, I hoped that the hearts of these two men would be stirred. At times their curiosity was peeked and they asked good hard questions about what was different about life before Christ and now. Roberto responded with the great truth that he now had hope. He now knows he is not alone and that Heaven awaits Him and I pray these two men would know that there is always hope in the Lord. This dinner was a beautiful showing of the church coming together and shedding light in the darkness.

In many ways it has been a full week, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store. I am thankful for the many ways He has given me wonder and for the ever shining light of Jesus.