Oh to see again, differently.

After a few hours, the hike was getting tougher and our legs, more tired. My friend Amanda and I had just spent our entire Saturday morning making the trek from our town to what the tourists call the "Muela del Diablo"....or "Devil's tooth". Yet, as we exited what seems to be more of the "city" and ascended the nearby mountain, I remember making the comment multiple times, "Wow. When I used to think of Bolivia, this is what I would think of." With mountains of rocks and dirt surrounding us, the call of the sheep, goats, and cows led us to the top of the sharp-edged rocks jutting out of the countryside. Of course, the view from the Muela almost seemed to place the huge city of La Paz in our little hands, almost nothing more than our possession of some cinnamon toast crunch in our morning cereal bowl. Glorious.

I needed this. My soul needed the wild. My body needed a release of endorphins. Yet, above all these things, I needed a change of perspective.

After two weeks of school and a few more weeks in La Paz, it was too easy to find myself spending my free time dwelling on my circumstances. It is tough to leave the community I had in the states which knew me fairly well. As an introvert, every time I am presented with a new group to hang out with, I am faced with the hard work ahead of building those relationships and that ministry. And of course, sometimes lesson plans do not seem very "fun" in the category of serving my kids and my school.

Faithfully, God found ways of getting my attention through a view on top of a mountain and even through a night of hot chocolate and sleeping out under the stars on the patio. When things are quiet and I am still before God, I realize that only He can cast out my fear of what my future days here will bring. He not only casts it out, but He gently replaces it with His perfect love. This perfect love fills my mornings with purpose. This perfect love fills my days with stamina. This perfect love fills my evenings with grace. Because His perfect love casts out all fear. With fear out of the way, I feel as if seeing clearly just gets a bit easier.