Spanish. Romance Language, which I just learned from Wikipedia that it has nothing to do with love, but more that fact that the language stems from Latin back in Roman times, hence Romance language. But let's just go with the fact that it means lovely words and flowing romantic sentences. When you think of Spanish speaking countries you might think of these things:
-Spanish roses.
-Spanish dancing.
-Passionate love songs.
-Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones from "The Mask Of Zorro".
All of these things are somewhat true of this culture b/c this is a place of relationships, blunt and honest words, impulsiveness, and cheesy romantic pickup lines yelled to the gringas (American women) down the street. One of my favorite things about the language though are the lyrics to Spanish songs. You think you like a song in English and then you hear it in Spanish and somehow it's more passionate, it's more beautiful, it moves you more, it contains more emotion, etc. Several of us believe this to be true and I have found that it's not just with secular songs, but with worship songs as well. As I sit in church I sometimes write down the lyrics to a song, b/c they can be more powerful than a sermon. Here are some of the lyrics I wrote down this past Sunday:
"Cerca de Ti, yo quiero estar
para escuchar Tu voz y aprender de ti
quiero ser un reflejo de Tu amor
quiero vivir solo en Tu voluntad
Jesus eres mi buen pastor
Tu conoces mi camino
Jesus puedo confiar en Ti
Oh mi Dios, me rindo hoy"
"Near You is where I want to be
to hear your voice and learn from You
I want to be a reflection of Your love
I want to live only in Your will
Jesus, You are my good shepherd
You know my ways
Jesus, I can trust in You
Oh my God, I surrender today"
Even sitting here and writing it makes me love it even more! I mean really listen and look at those words and what they are saying. I feel like the past few weeks I have been pounded with this idea of literally resting in Christ. Think about rest. I love rest and a perfect day for me would include either sleeping in until 10 or taking a really good nap, not like this 30 min tease, but like a good 2 hr nap!! So obviously I have alot to say about rest:) The thing I love about rest is that your mind is taken to another place or maybe it just shuts off b/c I don't have any worries when I rest. Why? I'm not focusing on them for the duration of my nap. This is where the analogy of resting in Christ is so beautiful! If we rest in Him like we rest on a Sunday afternoon, we put everything into His hands and don't worry about these trivial things like what I'm going to do when my 2 years up here in the DR, what my fundraising will look like next year, if I'll still be single when I come back to the states, or if l'll have money to start up my life when I come back to the states.
Yes, these are all things to think about, but maybe it's just that. A thought. When I rest in Him I leave it as a thought in His hands, the place I ultimately want to be. Our vision is limited, yet He sees AND understands it ALL. Yes, I said ALL. Whether that means to you marriage struggles, the comparison game, releasing aspects of your life to Him, being content, financial struggles, etc. He knows, sees, understands, and cares. If He knows it all, then won't He bring me through it? If I really hold onto this truth, then why am I stressed out and have a mindset of worry or anxiety?
Check yourself this week and ask yourself are you believing that He will see you and your struggle through to completion like it says in Phil 1:6?