Guatemala – June 2009

Philippians 4:4 tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always…” This is a verse that God has placed in front of me for the past six months. It has quite literally shown up in the oddest places. It has been in every book I’ve read, been on the walls at the veterinarian’s office, been quoted to me by total strangers…you get the picture. There have been times in the past six months when I’ve simply looked at the Lord and said “I cannot rejoice in this moment. There is no joy in it.”, or “I don’t know how to rejoice in this moment, there is too much pain and heartache here.” I want to be obedient, but at moments I simply have not known how to rejoice in the midst of tragedy. ….Ask and you shall receive…..

Don’t you love it when God answers a prayer so clearly that you cannot miss it? God allowed me the privilege of traveling to Guatemala and meeting the children at Casa. Each and every one of these children have lived through terror, heartache, loss, misery, abandonment…the list goes on. And yet, they were full of joy….abundant joy. They have learned to rejoice in their savior with every fiber of their beings. Their worship was so full of joy that they sang and jumped and celebrated God’s love and salvation for hours at a time. For you see they have learned that (Psalm 31:7) God’s love is unfailing and he has seen our troubles and knows the anguish of our souls. How can we not rejoice in a savior who knows us so intimately, who is willing to share our pain at such a level that it becomes his own? So, I’ve learned to say to the lord, “toma tomalo” – ‘take it all Lord, our praise and all we are today is yours’. Casa is a place full of tragic stories, but more importantly, it is full of lives that are victorious and joyful. May we become like these little children and learn to rejoice in the Lord, always.

Written by Cherry Keaton