What's your word?

Last week I started to read Elizabeth's Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. This is a book that I have been meaning to read for years. I have always heard good things about it, but for whatever reason I never got around to it. However, now is the time for this book in my life. It is the story of Elizabeth's spiritual, emotional, psychological, and physical recovery from a painful divorce and, well, life, and an account of her year abroad spent in Italy (eat), India (pray), and Indonesia (love). While in Italy she meets with a young man to practice her Italian. This is how she explains on of their conversations about the word of a city.

"Then he went on to explain, in a mixture of English, Italian and hand gestures, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people's thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority thought might be- that is the word of the city. And if you personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don't really belong there."

They go on to discuss the words of various cities. Rome=SEX. The Vatican=POWER. New York=ACHIEVE. Los Angeles=SUCCEED. Stockholm=CONFORM. Naples=FIGHT. Then he asks, "What's your word?" This is a very difficult question for her to answer, and in fact, she hasn't yet answered it at all in the book. (I'm with her in India now). I was immediately struck with this question as well and spent the next few days pondering this question for myself. I knew what the words of my past were. Senior year of college=SAVOUR (class, friends opportunities). Summer 2009=PREPARE. But my word now, here, in Poland, did not come so quickly.

At first I could not even decide what part of speech my word would be. Is it a noun (state of being), verb (action or movement), or adjective (description of my state)? I settled on a verb; this is a year of action. I then went through several different verbs. GO. TRY. WORK. MEET. MEET was close. I'm meeting God in a new way, new people, a new culture. Yet, meeting was still too simple. Then I realized my word.

FIND.

My word is FIND.

Things that are found already exist. When explorers were charting the world, they were not creating land or island. Instead they were simply recording what already what out there. Likewise, I am not creating. I am not the mastermind behind life's journey or even this simple year abroad. I am merely uncovering and discovering what God has placed in His creation and within me, as I am a part of God's creation.

Just as I am not the creator, I am not bringing God to Poland; I am finding Him in a place that is new to me. He has always been here and has always been at work in the Poles. As a missionary I serve to witness what is happening in a place far from my home and to tell the story to the church at home.

In addition to finding God, I also am finding things about the culture I am living in, as well as things in my person. I am learning a new and challenging language and finding out how another group of people communicate and express themselves. I am finding love for this language, and for food, people, students, and new friends. Within myself I am finding characteristics that I did not know I had or to what degree I had them. Strength, confidence, and and above all patience.

FIND.

My word is FIND.

What is your word?