¿Qué Estás Buscando?

I really enjoy days when things don't go as I had planned them, but they end up just as God knew you needed the day to be. I didn't really have a plan for church today until about 30 minutes before leaving, and the rest of the day I had planned to spend at home just catching up on emails, phone calls, and lessons for the week. However, that quickly changed with one message sent at 9:30 this morning. I ended up going to church in Manchay which was where I had wanted to go, out for lunch with a few friends, and to a families' home to play Ping Pong and Monopoly.

The home was more beautiful than any home I've ever been into. It had an open staircase with a stone wall that was built right into the side of the mountain (one of the benefits of no rain in the desert of Perú). Out front was a large marble-stone waterfall with flowers and decorative frogs. The inside decor was absolutely gorgeous, too. Not a typical Peruvian home, but a very beautiful home to say the least. I wish I had a picture to share.

However, that is not why I decided to type up a blog entry tonight. God spoke to my heart today in church which is why this blog is titled as it is. "What are you looking for?" This topic hit the spot, and I wanted to share a bit of it with all of you. I know without a doubt that I'm right where I need to be, and each day I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here in Perú. However, already people are beginning to ask (and have been asking since my 2nd week here) what comes next to which I reply, "I'm just not sure." I know where I think I'd like to be, but I'm just not sure where God wants me to be. Being such a future focused person, it's so hard not having a plan...this has been the theme of 2009. No plan but God's plan; take it one day at a time!

Today my heart was encouraged through various passages. Read on:
Song of Songs 3:1-4
All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him. The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. "Have you seen the one my heart loves?" Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go."
Psalm 22:1-2
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.

Refer to the first one as the church seeking Christ. Song of Songs is often interpretted in 2 ways...man and woman or Christ and his Bride (the church). The Bride is seeking Christ, yet she cannot find him. She goes out into the streets to search for "the one her heart loves." When she finally finds "him" she will not let him go. She clings to him tightly, listens to his every word, bows at his feet because he is the Christ.
The second passage - I cry out by day, but you do not answer.

How often do you "seek" Christ, but your mind remains filled with the clutter of your thoughts...worries, to-do lists, physical items for which you are seeking? Are you passionately seeking him as the writers of the above passages were or are you seeking him halfheartedly hoping that his "still small voice" will be heard among the clutter? Do you take time out each day to truly LISTEN to Christ or do you speed through your prayers telling God of all the things you want/need without every listening to hear the things HE WANTS for you?

My prayer today has been...God what do you want? It's okay to tell God the things that you want, the passions that you have, but ultimately the plans he has for you are going to be the best end result. It is important that we listen to his "still small voice" and follow the path he has laid before us. Mine has led me to Perú for this time of my life. I could not be more thankful. Now it is important that I seek his desires for the next step whether that be Perú or the United States.

Life is so much more enjoyable and rewarding when we go through it holding the hand of our Father who cares about each of us more than we could ever imagine!