Our oldest daughter just got back from Guatemala. She spent three weeks in a Spanish immersion school with a friend and toured part of the country. She saw things I may never see. This thrills me. World views tend to be the small “world” we build around ourselves: our immediate family and surroundings, our day-to-day circumstances, the food we consume most commonly. None of this is bad per se; it is just that it can be very small.

Having a chance to experience cultures and languages different from our own broadens our perspective. It helps us appreciate our own heritage, while valuing the experiences of another. My daughter found she really enjoyed the beauty and color in Guatemala, along with some of their traditional foods. Homemade tortillas, ground fresh every meal, are something she will remember. Her deepest treasure though is friendship. The amazing people she met–her host family and friends from the school– are people she’ll likely connect with for the rest of her life. She made cultural connections that shape how she values people and hopefully how they value her.

I’d like to say I remained peaceful the entire time she was away, but I didn’t learn until the last week to trust. I prayed and talked to her, but I finally the last week realized my perspective is often limited. It is much too easy to concoct a world view based on fear or the unknown. Yet anything based on fear isn’t rooted in the truth of who we are and Whose we are. The reality is God loves all people across the globe and until we see what their lives are like, we may live in a world we create in our minds. Seeing the pictures helped me broaden my horizons, but I’m so thankful my children are getting to experience something outside their daily routine.

The world is harsh in many ways, but it is also beautiful. Realizing that circumstances don’t revolve around us brings a lot of intentional focus to the situations we encounter on a daily basis–even things like irrigating. How wonderful to have good water!  May your day and your perspective be rich!