April 2017
WE ARE DEFINED BY...
I had a big exam in my grammar class on the last Friday of March. It lasted two hours and included both perfect and imperfect past tense in Spanish. After we received our exams, our teacher, Ana, was going over the test with us. One of the students was certain he was going to fail. He asked, "Am I defined by this exam?" She said, no we are not defined by our exams but by our character all trimester. This made me think of our tests in life. Do my struggles, failures, choices, and tests in life define who I am? I truly believe the answer is the same answer that Ana gave, no. But I do believe that my tests, struggles, failures, and choices impact who I am, even if they don't define who I am. A year ago, I was struggling as a mom just thinking about moving my kids overseas. Now I struggle with living in a new country, being a full-time student, mom, wife, ect. In my past I have struggled with losing my father-n-law to ALS, experiencing miscarriages, going to seminary, moving to a new city, and the list could go on and on. All of these experiences have impacted who I am, but none of them define me. So what defines us? Our relationship to Jesus is what defines us. I am a child of God, because Jesus loved me enough to die for me and make a way for me to live a life of freedom and wholeness. I accepted that gift of grace and began this journey at camp when I was 14 years old. I am defined by my relationship to my Father, my God. I am his child. As Semana Santa (Holy Week) will begin in a few days, let's remember that we are not defined by what we cannot do, or what we've done that we shouldn't have done. But we are defined by the fact that Jesus came to earth as a little baby and grew up to die on the cross for our sins so that we could live. There is hope in this messed up world, and his name is Jesus.
Lorenz Happenings.
It's been a busy month: A trip to see Volcán Arenal, Fun with friends in the park, and science fair projects. All four kids did great in the science fair. Both Libby and Ellie got first place in their classes.
