In a few weeks, I will be making my second trip to Jamaica. As I was reading and came across this verse, it spoke to my heart about the trip for various reasons.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

First, the part of Jamaica that we stay in is in the mountains of Mandeville. Secondly, the whole purpose of the trip is stated in the remainder of the verse.

As I read this verse, it reminds me just how beautiful it was when our feet went to the mountains of Mandeville and told of God. My prayer is that this year I would be able to see that same beauty or even more.

I have heard many times the saying that a person should be a missionary within their own community before going elsewhere. I will just be honest when I say that I don't live by that. I find it much easier to witness to strangers than acquintances. I can easily be kinder to someone I just met than my family. Although I thought this verse fit well with my thoughts of Jamaica, God spoke to me and asked if I believed that same beauty could happen in the mountains of Asheville. Expressing the love of God (whether through words or actions) is hard at home, but I am going to try it. Lord I trust that when I take a step back from the labors of love and sweat-provoking conversations I will see beauty.

Isaiah 52:7