I scroll quickly past the pictures posted by one of the moms from the school our boys attended when we were on home assignment last year. The soccer team is celebrating a win and I feel a sting of envy that my oldest son isn’t in the picture. He faithfully practiced with the team until right before we returned overseas; he would have loved playing with the other guys in the fall. 

While trying to ignore the soccer pictures, I remember a cold winter day last year as I stood frozen in place in Kroger’s fruit aisle. I clutched a carton of blueberries in my hand, overwhelmed by a sticker on the package that said these berries were picked on a farm in the same valley where we live in Peru. Suddenly... I missed home. 

I missed our mountains and valleys and the blueberry fields. I missed chatting with the family who sells those blueberries in our market on Saturdays. I missed the friendly greetings between shoppers while choosing our fruits and vegetables. I missed talking to people, and I’m sure I baffled the clerk at the check-out when I began telling him about the blueberries and just couldn’t stop talking! 

What is wrong with me? Am I really so discontented that I miss my other world more than I appreciate the one that I’m in right now? 

I’m so grateful that even the amazing apostle Paul admits that he had to LEARN the secret of contentment. It wasn’t just an automatic character quality bestowed upon him when he met Jesus. Paul learned the secret to rejoicing in all circumstances. The secret is that the Lord is near! 

So when I’m in Ohio, I’ll remember that the Lord is near and rejoice! My boys can go to school and play on the soccer team, and I can buy Andean blueberries in Kroger. When I’m in Peru, I’ll remember that the Lord is near and rejoice! I’ll rejoice in the beauty of the mountains and the blueberry farms, and I’ll smile at the friendly faces that greet me in the market.  

Rejoice - the Lord is near!