Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
These lyrics also come from Hillsong's Hosanna song (which I referenced in another post on Trinidad) . . . the words have resonated with me since I first heard them - and they also articulate one of the main things the Holy Spirit reminded me of during my trip. It is so very easy for me to settle into the routine of my life - the good, the fun, the challenges/struggles, work, church, family, friends, the everyday-ness - and to live as if my earthly reality is the most "real" thing. I am so thankful it is not! Thankful that there is a bigger Reality, a greater Story . . . one in which redemption is the greatest theme . . . the restoration of all things to wholeness and shalom.
There were a number of things during the time in Trinidad that triggered thought about this for me: stories of dreams that patients had been having for years - dreams that pointed to the reality of the spiritual/eternal; the ease with which conversations about Jesus took place . . . people speaking honestly about His work in their lives & their desire for others to know that personally; hearing from a missionary couple about what God is doing in Guinea, West Africa; having a conversation at the eyeglass clinic with a Trinidadian woman about what it looks like to talk about our faith with our co-workers.
One of the things that I prayed about for this trip was that the Spirit would show me/the group how to integrate what He taught us into the places where He has sovereignly placed us . . . I didn't want it to be an isolated experience, compartmentalized into the "that was a great week" category. And one way I see Him answering this is how He recalibrated my perspective on my everyday life - reminding me of the Reality of the unseen: there are constantly things happening in the spiritual dimension - in my life, in the lives of my co-workers, friends, & family, at work, at home, on the Metro. And I want to be attuned to that, to be in step with the Spirit so that I am fully available in each of those settings for how God may want me to be part of talking about Reality. The DC area can oftentimes be a hard place to talk about these things and I sometimes struggle with how to be honest & ready in certain conversations . . . but I pray that the Lord continues to teach me how to do that better and am grateful for how He has already used this trip as a jumping-off point in talking about my relationship with Him . . .
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