What does the future hold?

 I have recently had the enormous honor and pleasure of spending 2 weeks with a short-term mission team in the poor, but immensely beautiful country of Ecuador.  I was struck by the amazing beauty that co-existed with the poverty of the people.  Walking or driving through the streets of Quito I was surrounded by poorly made concrete houses, most of which have barred windows and/or security gates because of the high crime rate there. Every store had a heavily armed security guard hanging around the entrance, and the city had a pervading air of volatility.  And yet, looking beyond and above this atmosphere there was such a glorious beauty to be seen.  Mountains tower above the city on every side, green with trees and farmland, and the cap  of every mountain is shrouded in a misty enchanting fog.  I found myself convicted of something.....The Lord, He is God, and he never ever abandons his people, or leaves them without blessing.  Where God leaves his people lacking of one blessing, He showers them with an overabundance of other blessings.  The people living in Ecuador may not be as materially wealthy as we living in North America are, but they have been given an overabundance of beauty in their surroundings.  And really, in the end, what is better, the material belongings that we fight to own and keep, or to be able to freely explore and glory in our great God's creations, which is no man's belonging, and yet every man's treasure?

Working in the coast town of Quininde for a week we spent several days working with the children there. Working with these boys and girls, most, if not all of whom were from shattered families, made me realize how many people the world over need to be shown the love of Jesus Christ, and how much of a responsibility we have, as Christians, to do that.  Does that mean that I am going to move to Ecuador and be a missionary for the rest of my life? Actually, it does mean that I am going to be a missionary for the rest of my life...I am a Christian, and that makes me a messenger of the most high God, and no matter where I am I will speak for Him and of Him.  At this point in my life I am still planning to go ahead with university, but this trip has made me realize that plans can change in the blink of an eye...God may show me a different calling at any given moment, and I need to be ready to follow his lead, wherever that will take me.  Several people have recently asked me what the future holds for me, and I have not been quite sure what to say to them...but this is my answer, as cliche as it might sound.   My future holds whatever God has in store for me. My goal is to glorify God in whatever capacity I can.  My plan is to seek God's plan for me, for I know that His plan is far beyond anything my human mind could ever imagine.