What I learned about God in the rain in Costa Rica

Reflecting back on my experience last summer on a mission trip to Costa Rica, I have realized that I learned a lot about God and how He speaks to His people.

The moment in the cover picture taught me the most. We were at a playground with a bunch of local kids that we didn't speak the same language as. This language barrier caught me off guard, but the ministry we were with is known for bringing Americans to this playground so the kids seemed unfazed. They were so happy to be playing with new people that they didn't care about how little we understood them. This was the first lesson: God doesn't care how much we understand about His plan for our lives. He just wants us to come to Him with what we have and who we are.

Once we had been there for about an hour, it started to rain, slowly at first, but gradually getting more intense. The kids seemed completely content to play in the rain and, now, mud. A group of us decided to ask the kids why they find so much comfort in the rain. There response was shocking to me: they said they love the rain because it waters the fields their parents work in. It makes more vegetation for them to weed out and gives them more opportunities to make money and support their families. The second lesson I learned was this: the kids being happy in the rain was just how God wanted us to feel in His presence. He provides what we need to get by and supports us with peace, love, and comfort.

When the rain got too intense for us to bear, we sat under some coverings nearby and started talking to some of the moms that had brought their kids to play. The language barrier was a little more prominent here, as we were trying to have real and meaningful conversations, not just about the swings. But both my group and the moms around were patient with us and each other as we tried to make sense of what the other was saying. We learned a lot about how they live and what they do on a day-to-day basis. But, there was one mom that stuck out to me. She was trying to calm one young child as another was sitting next to her yawning, waiting to be held. After a few minutes watching her, a volunteer for the ministry we were helping asked if she needed help with either of her kids. When she said that one needed to be held to fall asleep, the yawning little girl, the volunteer asked me if I wanted to do it. Of course I said yes, and as you can tell from the picture, I was successful in letting her fall asleep.

She was completely comfortable being given to a stranger who doesn't even speak her language because her mom said it was ok. She trusted that her mom knew what was best for her so she could relax and get the rest that she really wanted. We often need to be like that with God in order to get the rest that we want. We need to trust that He always knows what is best for us and will turn every situation to His good, so we can rest in His plan.