On Friday my team and I went to visit an active volcano in Masaya, Nicaragua. As we were driving up the mountian I was mesmerized by the astounding beauty that surrounded us. There are these fluid hills covered in incredibly lush, fresh grasses. Dark rocks jut from underneath the hills, accenting them perfectly. When the ascent was complete we parked in front of the mouth of the volcano. We filed out of the van and ran up to a low stone wall separating us from a vast crater in the earth. Rocky cliffs zagged unevenly downward towards a central hole in the earth. Sulfuric smoke wafted up from it, giving the scene a surreal tinge. Hawks flew below us, circling the giant, giving us a glimpse of the volcano's true dimensions. Although I never saw it, I know that somewhere deep down in that crevas there is hot magma. The scenery it had created over thouasnds of years was beautiful but it seemed to be an incredibly insignificant part of the scenery.

     I have been learning that our spirits are somewhat the same as the lava, our lives somewhat like the scenery. We define ourselves by what we see and understand - our accomplishments, appearance, schedule, the words that pass through our lips and the expressions we convey. The funny thing is that we are created by the most significant part of the scene, the unseen spirit inside. 

     I have been wondering what I would look like if everything was truely stripped away. Consider this for yourself...

Your wealth is unimportant, your appearance is negligable, your actions, your humour, who your friends with and your accomplishments mean nothing - in the end they won't...

So what is left? Is there any inner good inside of you? Me? Something to sustain me forever? Are you dwelling in the scene that you find yourself in, or do you desire to know what created it, what sustains it. I know that because the Spirit of God lives in me I am not empty. I am plugged into and willing to be molded by magma - something larger than I can understand, deeper than I can ever discover and more full of passion, peace and love than I will ever tap into. 

     It can be terrifying to be aware of how little of my life is made of substence. However, I am discovering that what is there, what is truely pure and transforming, is more powerful than lava to transform my scenery.