March 24

Revelation 7:13-17
Psalm 31:15-24
John 12:23-32 

Lose your life to find it.  Let go of life to keep it. 

I was reflecting recently on the events that led up to (as well those that came after) my family's sudden departure from Guatemala.  Politics had gone horribly wrong.  Everywhere there were rebel guerillas, government death squads, curfews, door to door searches, missing people, and my parents, trying to make life as normal as possible under the circumstances. 

I remember the call to the principal’s office and the solemn way in which she informed me that my dad was in trouble for speaking up.  Two days later we were in the United States with our suitcases and a lot of questions. It felt like we had lost our life: friends, home, country, belongings, all gone in less than 72 hours. It was hard to let go. 

But a new and better life lay ahead.  It was (and still is) a life holding more than I could ever ask or imagine. Not a life better because of safety or material goods.  Nor was it better because of where we lived or who we knew.  It was a new life founded on and in Christ; A life of vibrant faith in the lord lived out in the power of the Holy Spirit.

God used dramatic events in my family’s life to give us a richer life in His Son. Dramatic or not, as the circumstances may be in your life, He wants to do the same for you.