July 2, 2011
As I write this, my family and I are enjoying our third full day in Quito, Ecuador, where we are visiting my in-laws and celebrating the high school graduation of my brother-in-law. These past couple of days have been very emotional as it is the first time in five years since we have been back here to Ecuador. Much has changed; the city my wife grew up in is very different from the place that she left years ago.
As I sat down to write this, I happened to be preparing for an upcoming sermon where one of the lectionary readings in the story in Genesis of Jacob lying down with a stone as a pillow. He dreamed of an encounter with God and woke up saying, “Surely the Lord is in this place. This is the gate of Heaven.”
These words speak to me today. Even though this is a city that has changed so much since I was here last, still, I am sure God is in this place. Ironically, since Quito is the second highest capital city in the world in elevation, the idea that I am at the gateway of heaven definitely strikes a chord.
Whether at the heights of Chimborazo, or the depths of Death Valley, surely the Lord is in this place. God is all around, everywhere. In every place we are, in the faces and smiles of all those we encounter. God is ever-present and what a great realization that can be.
Praise God!
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