Reparando

During high school I overheard a conversation between two girls in my class. It was our sophomore year and for most of us, the time we officially got our driver’s licenses. At sixteen years of age, it is obviously the most important thing in the world. My two classmates were discussing another girl who had totaled her car three weeks after receiving her driver’s license. What was disgusting to my classmates was the fact that even though the girl had completely demolished her car in the accident, her parents bought her a brand new car  to replace her totaled one – which happened to be a nicer car. As my two classmates continued to discuss the situation, I too was shocked. Why would her parents buy her a brand new car even though she wrecked her first one? Why would they trust her with an even nicer car if she already crashed within three weeks? Does she really deserve one?

It seemed crazy that the girl received something even better than before after completely messing up.

This story always reminds me of my own brokenness. There are so many times in my life where I had been given something amazing, but ended up destroying it. I have easily made mistakes and gotten myself into bad situations.

But…

I have also experienced the joy and deep satisfaction of redemption.

Redemption is defined as an act of buying something back, or paying a price to return something to your possession; an act of recovery. Not only has God forgiven me of my faults and shortcomings, but He sent His Son to pay the ultimate price, so that I may be recovered and restored. He has taken my mistakes and used them for His glory. He has taken something that I destroyed and replaced it with something even better. We could never possibly sin our way out of forgiveness and grace.

“Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” Ephesians 1:4-8

John Brown University requires all first year students to take a Gateway Seminar course. I signed up for a course called: Engaging a Broken World: Community Development in Guatemala and Central America. During our class we discussed Creation, Fall, and Redemption and gained our own ideas of a Christian worldview. We focused on the brokenness of Guatemala and the evidence of God’s redemption coursing through the streets of the city. It truly opened my eyes and helped me see the beauty through the brokenness.

On the outskirts of Guatemala City lies a massive dump. The dump has a population of 11,000 who live and work in the dump. 6,000 out of the 11,000 are children. Every day the workers search for anything they can use to refurbish and sell on the streets of Guatemala.

*images via Google*

Redemption can be seen in the dump of Guatemala City. The workers take something that is dirty, broken, and forgotten, and create something whole and new. I am thankful that God gathers me up from ashes, heals all of my cracks and wounds, and creates something beautiful out of my brokenness.

Reparando means to repair.

Reparando is also the title of a documentary on Guatemala’s struggle to repair itself and its people. The documentary shows the lives of those who have experienced redemption in a place where hope is easily forgotten. If you are interested in gaining a new perspective on God’s beautiful redemption, I highly recommend watching this film. Check out the trailer here:

God’s grace and redemption is deep and wide. His love for us is unfathomable. I’m thankful that He has repaired my life and continues to mold and shape me. I am challenged to find the simplest beauty in the people and things that surround me. It is our job to see those around us the way God created them to be, not view them based on their mistakes and failures. I pray that I will view others using a perspective of redemption and always show grace and mercy to those around me. Although we live in a broken world, Christ’s redemption is all around us. May we walk in the truth of freedom of His beautiful redemption.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

The Expedition

Last summer my family and I went on an incredible “trip of a lifetime“ (as we liked to call it) to Europe. At the time, my brother was stationed at a naval base in Naples, Italy, and my second cousin was getting married in Bias, France. We decided that this may be our only chance to explore Europe, and with my brother’s job and my cousin’s marriage, the timing was impeccable. Little did we know what this journey had in store for us…

The first couple days of our trip was perfectly planned. We explored Rome and Florence, touching pieces of history and consuming gelato every chance we got. It was amazing. Next was our drive to Naples. The drive from Rome to Naples is about three hours, depending on traffic. Our transportation was a rented, tiny SUV that barely fit my family of five and all our luggage. The best option for the three hour drive was to tie down our luggage to the top of the car so we could comfortably make our way to Naples. The traffic in Italy is INSANE. Even the highways have carelessly speeding Italians who don’t like people in their way. The highway we drove on contained a mile-long tunnel and had fences that separated each side of the highway. As we drove an acceptable 85-90 mph, I was awakened by my mother’s scream. The rope embracing our luggage ripped and three large bags were tumbling down the highway just as we were entering the vast tunnel. Because you can’t pull over while in a tunnel, we immediately hugged the shoulder when we saw the light of day. Our first thought was: “Everything is demolished. There is no possible way our belongings survived the fall, and if they did, surely they have been hit by the speeding cars.” Because there was fencing between the highways, there was no possible way to turn the car around. The nearest exit to turn back was 13 miles away. The only thing left to do was to run through the tunnel to retrieve what was left of our luggage. My mother and my sister ended up running through the mile-long tunnel, avoiding speeding cars while pulling the luggage off the highway, my brother running after them and ruthlessly waving down a car, and driving back to our vehicle. We could’ve never imagined something like this could happen in our perfectly planned “trip of a lifetime.”

We planned for the best possible outcome, but faced a circumstance that was frustrating and hard.

Looking back at the events that played out during that trip reminds me of my own expedition. Life is unexpected. We can’t plan for every single moment and every single experience. Opportunities come and go, we lose people we love, we make plans that fall through, people let us down, we lose our job, we make mistakes, etc. Things happen and life goes on without stopping. My journey thus far has been filled with so many different experiences; these experiences have stretched me in ways I didn’t think I could be stretched and have molded me into who I am today. Through this blog I hope to share the things I have learned and the things I am continuing to learn. My goal is to share my heart and experiences in an authentic way and reveal God’s redemption through my testimony. I pray that my entries connect with those who are traveling this crazy path of life with me and that in some [even if small] way I can bring hope, through the love of Christ, to that road. This blog has been in planning for a long time and I feel as if God has been preparing my heart for the things I will write about. Whatever God is working out in my life and whatever future He has planned for me, I know deeply within my heart He will always be with me, guiding me down the road ahead.

“Go forth today, by the help of God’s Spirit, vowing and declaring that in life – come poverty, come wealth, in death – come pain or come what may, you are and ever must be the Lord’s. For this is written on your heart, ‘We love Him because He first loved us.'” -Charles H. Spurgeon

And so, begins…

The Expedition