Buenos Dias!
Wow! I can’t believe how quickly the time is going for me! I just finished my third week of classes at Ecela. My week was filled with school in the morning and then to the library to study for 2-4 hours each day. There are so many different verb conjugations. My mind was swimming most of the week, trying to remember how to say it correctly in present, past tense imperfect or indefinite. Do I use “pos” or “para,” etc. I know it shouldn’t be that difficult, but with so many words floating around in my brain I spoke v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y!!
A few days ago, I read a blog entry from a woman who lost a child over a year ago and is still in the process of walking through her grief. As you know, writing is not one of my strong points. I have difficulty relaying what it is I am trying to say or I find myself writing about things on the surface. She wrote a quote by Kate DiCamillo, which states, “Writing is seeing. It is paying attention.” I found myself really pondering this for quite sometime. Not as much about the writing part, but about the “paying attention” part. She also wrote about the fog she was in. That really struck a chord with me! For years I worked in a very demanding field and now I am trying to pull things out of the “fog” to learn a new language.
After I read this, I began to ask God to help me to see through the fog. To see clearly. To pay attention to the things that really matter. To PAY ATTENTION! I began to put my experience here into perspective. One of my purposes here is to learn the language. But, the picture is much bigger than to only learn Spanish. I want each day to make a difference for Him.
If we could only realize that each day we have is a gift given to us. (When I say “us,” I’m really saying “me.”) I began to pray that I would unwrap each moment and discover what He has for me. Let me look and really see. Let me listen and really hear. Give me His eyes to see. I want to see through the fog. Clearly. Distinctly.
When any of us makes a monumental change in our lives, there is a sense of excitement, anticipation, and many other thoughts and feelings. When I left a career that I had worked in for almost forty years, I felt free. Free to explore what is next in my life, and also for Dan and me to explore what the next chapter holds for us. I don’t know what is next for me or us, but I am figuring out that what is most important is to know where I am right now. To live in that moment and to keep seeking Him.
This is sometimes a challenge. Are we carefully unwrapping the gift of today or are we rushing through today by thinking about tomorrow and what it may or may not bring? Or are we focusing on "me" and a situation rather than on Him? I know that for me, I’m striving to really pay attention to the small things. The things that I tend to overlook because my mind is somewhere or I am rushing on to the next thing. I am seeking the Father.
I leave Lima next Friday for Chile. Chow for now. Pat
p.s. The photo is lunch with some of the students from the school. The two men on either side of me are Catholic missionaries that will be working in Peru for the next year. This restaurant is off of one of the main streets and we eat lunch there for under $3.00. Lunch consists of juice, rice, beans, meat and soup or salad. Quite a bargain!!
