So here we are. Back in Iowa. The bags are unpacked (we just won't talk about the piles that still need to be dispersed). The kids have been having a blast reconnecting with family and friends.
The weather has been amazing. The laughs, the friends, the readjustments.
It is actually a weird thing. The house is the same (THANK YOU to the 49 people that came by just before we moved back to pull weeds, wash windows, and simply make home feel like home), yet things are different. More actually, we are different. The experiences of the past year have shaped and molded up. I would even suggest a refinement process. We purposely escaped for a few days when we arrived back in the states to process and chat with our kids. It has been fun walking with them about our time in Guatemala. All of them, especially the older three, said that they want to go back to Guatemala on a missions trip. It was great to walk with them the last week were we there, as they examined their feelings of leaving. It was great to see them fall in love with that country they way that Vicki and I have fallen in love with Guatemala.
It has been great to be back. It has also been great to see God at night. I forgot many things of Iowa: how the sunsets/sunrises look.....the way the wind blows over the fields.....the taste of bacon.....the hospitality. Sure there were/are things we will miss of Guatemala, but we are still convinced that this is the next step.
Vicki begins her position on the 20th and she is wrapped with excitement. I am still in the process of discernment for my position and can see that the kids are a little ancy about it. So, my prayer is that this step is revealed sooner than later.
Yet, in the mean time. We process. Each day is a gift that is filled with possibilities and I await what each one will look like. Our hearts are like sponges before the Lord right now. We are simply awaiting to soak His glory up. Our souls are continually stirred and desire to be on fire with the Lord. Sometimes, all it takes is a spark to get the fire going. Lord, was a year in Guatemala that spark?
What is your spark? How is the kindling of your soul looking like?
~Justin
