Where do you see Jesus?

Do you think about Him daily? Are you actively seeking a relationship with Him? A couple of weeks ago when I was at Sharptop for YL work week, this question was presented to us. After the first day of work they asked where we saw Jesus and for the rest of the week we were encouraged to open our hearts and look for Him. So where did I see Jesus that first day? I had to think hard. I wasn't looking for Him. I barely thought about Him. Going into the second day I was determined to find Him. Our group was the ditch crew. We raked out the ditches on the sides of all the roads for irrigation purposes to prevent the roads from being covered in standing water. Let me tell you one thing... raking does not seem like a hard task until you do it all day long. Eight hours, phewww. Anyways, the second day of this I thought about God all throughout the day. When I was tired, it reminded me of the purpose behind what I was doing: to serve kids. When I wanted to give up, it gave me the strength to continue. When my mind was telling me the mud that was by this point covering my arms and legs was gross, it allowed me to regress to childhood years where playing in the mud was fun. I didn't discover, but actually got to experience what a day is like with God actually holding the role as primary focus. Let me tell you one thing: it was one of the hardest working days of my life (no exaggeration), yet one of the greatest. Easy would be a bad word to describe it so maybe the word, simple, fits better. Everything was simple. We were serving and living for God and that is really all that there was to it. That day I saw Jesus in leaves; every single muddy, slimy, brown, stubborn leaf that we raked that day(the ditches were actually ditches with standing water the second day). To most people there would be nothing beautiful about them, but to me there was an awe that came from them. Each leaf, probably out a gazillion(you can imagine with eight hours of it), was designed by God. Each leaf had a layout of intricately placed veins. Then, I related it to people. Every single person was created by the same creator. This same creator, loves each and everyone equally. He places all of them on Earth and plans which ones will cross each others paths of life. We should find beauty in not only everything, but every person. Its easy to love the things that God has created however, its not always easy to love people because of the things they have done. Forgiveness is key. I know this may seem cheesy but in order for me to love people at times I remember the quote that says to "love like you will never get hurt". Do not allow someone's actions in turn harden your heart because by doing so you are only negatively affecting yourself. Forgive them and move on. My challenge to you guys is: Find beauty in every person. Love them. Be a servant to them. Be a friend to them. However you can show them love, do it.

You may be wondering how this relates to my trip to Estonia. It could seem like a bit of a tangent. Its not though. Im going to see Jesus every single day in Estonia. Notice the period. Its there intentionally because Im not going to allow it be even be considered as a question. Its going to happen.