Peace Be Still...

After a fairly stressful day of designing and staring at a computer screen, I needed a break. My great intentions of running while I have been here fell pretty short after I left my running shoes in the States and opted for Facebook-ing. But during my "furlough" I remembered to pack them and today I dusted them off, cranked up my IPod, and headed out the door to unwind.
The village that I live in is really quiet and peaceful, especially later in the evening. It was about 8:20pm but it doesn't get dark until about 9:30, which I love. Out of the front gate I headed right which meant I was going away from the town and toward the next one. A few minutes down the road, past the houses and barking dogs there was nothing but fields and grass. Off in the distance you could see Ceske Budejovice.
The road was really narrow and made me nervous as cars sped by so I didn't go very far. I turned around and went through a neighborhood, looking for a trail that Jen had taken me on before. Walking down the trail I took advantage of the fact that there was no one around and started singing out loud to my music. At one point I stopped and turned around and saw the city way out in the distance past the fields. I saw a city with so many opportunities and people to reach but I also saw so many lost opportunities. In the middle of the path began to talk to God and pray that my attitude would change and that I would make a positive difference toward this city. Over the past couple of weeks my spirit had begun to weaken and discouragement came more easily. I usually like to work really hard and accomplish more than I have time for. But lately it has been really hard when I don't feel like I am doing my best and it is even harder when I am trying to keep up with missionaries around me who are so strong and solid in their ministry here. I let the stress and the uncertainty of the summer overwhelm me. Standing there I knew I had to stop thinking about myself and start focusing on what was really important. God brought me here for a reason and I knew He would provide everything I needed to accomplish the task He set before me. There are so many ways to reach out here and too little time to worry about little things. The walk was so refreshing and it was just what I needed after a long day of inside work. I pray that I can focus on the relationships that need to be built and the ways that I can contribute to this ministry. Please join me in this prayer as well.

"Don't tell your God how big your storm is, tell your storm how big your God is."