After living in a relatively small community for a month, you find out a lot about each person’s personality. The good, the bad, the funny, the weird. You also find out what main role each person plays. You’ve got the Peppy Pablo—always cheering you on, the Maternal Melanie—need ANYTHING a pharmacy carries?, the Energetic Evan—probably didn’t need that last pot of coffee, dear, and the Keep Crackin’ Jokes Kelly—no matter what, they’ve got the laughs. Some of us take on different roles at different times, but it’s important to know that each part is essential and appreciated—even if your role for the day is to be the Sour Susan.
I have found that my role, for the most part, is to be Chillin’ Charlie. I don’t get stressed out, I’m always sure things will work themselves out, I just let things be and don’t ask many questions. This can be a real gift—I just sit back and enjoy the ride, if people are stressed, I can help them calm down, and my blood pressure and likeliness of getting grey hair stays in the healthy-for-a-22-year-old range. However, this “chill” attitude can pose some problems as well.
This weekend we travelled to Guatemala City. We prayer for people and they were healed. People were healed by the Lord in response to prayers. People are healed today because of the Lord’s nuts-o awesome power we experienced last Sunday! On the bus ride home, people were telling their stories of triumph over evil (literally!) and I sat and thought to myself, “That’s nice.” That’s nice. That’s. Nice. Why was I not jumping and rejoicing about all the great things that just happened? Why was I not so moved that I just wanted to stand in the streets shouting “Alleluia!”?
If you don’t stand for something… you’re just sitting there.
Thankfully, something happened yesterday. I decided to write in my journal all the things that had gone on. (I’m about as good at journaling as I am at blogging…) All of a sudden, and I’m talking it came outta nowhere, I got excited! I was ready to go and pray for and talk to and love on people like my teammates had done in the dumps of Guatemala City. And, as soon as I realized I was excited about how powerful and faithful God is, I was excited that I was excited! Double excited!
I am excited to see more healing.
I am excited to see lives changed.
I am excited to go home and tell stories of my time in Panajachel.
I am excited to rejoice and dance and sing about a LIVING God that is not passive, that is not just sitting there waiting for things to work themselves out, but healing and expressing His love and blessing us!
We are all called to be lights to the world. It doesn’t specify what kind of light—maybe a Lamp Lucy, a Flashlight Flynn, a Floodlight Florence, a Bonfire Bobby. But we are definitely not called to be dim, to be small, or to be passive. So, for these next 3 weeks in Panajachel, Guatemala, I’m going to be a light!
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