A little spring beauty

Sometimes it's just necessary to go to the beach...
We had guests with us all weekend, which means my brain was on Spanish language overload. Sunday we took them to the beach--it was a beautiful summery day for walking along the boardwalk. I love being able to listen to the waves come in. This was only the third time I've been to the ocean since coming here over two months ago. If I had my way, I'd be there every weekend! Alas, that's not how life works. I'm very grateful we had time to be there now!
 
 


This week is right in the middle of my time here in Spain

. Knowing this makes me a little reflective of what's going on inside me. I don't share a lot of that here because it's such a public space! Yet, there's a ton moving in my heart and passing through my thoughts all the time. I'm understanding more every day why people are on the move, why they leave behind everything in order to come to a place where they don't know anyone or have any connections. Like everyone else, they want to make life easier for the people they love.

I'm learning more about what it means to be an RSCJ, how we are connected through the cor unum (one heart) around the world, through the Heart that always draws us together despite differences of mentality, culture, politics, and ministry. 

I'm learning more about what's at my own core, how I see the world around me and how I react in diverse situations. About what it means to be misunderstood or to misunderstand others. What it means to feel excluded. What it means to have power, or to use it, or to not have it. 

All of this continues to bring up questions, too, about how I want to be and act in the world around me, about how God works through me and how I am shaped in that working. I wonder how I misunderstand those who are different from me, how I use my own gifts, talents, and power, and whether (or, rather, when) I exclude others unintentionally.


I continue to hold you in prayer, my friends.


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