Sometimes it’s hard for me to understand why some things happen in life. But I know that everything happens for a reason. I know that three years ago, as I sat in one of hundreds of church services I’ve attended throughout the years of my childhood, something tugged at my heart. Something moved in me that none of my family seemed to feel. I know that I earned that money, that I got on that flight, that I took that first trip to Haiti for a reason. How it has changed my life is unreal and almost impossible to explain. It’s indescribable. And each time, it’s harder to come back. Actually, it’s impossible to come back unchanged. Reality is not this material world in which I live, where everyone is given anything they could possibly want, where dreams are within arm’s reach. No, reality is the rest of the world. Reality is the world that millions face every day, a reality in which millions face hunger, homelessness, prostitution, unplanned pregnancy, abuse, murder: evil. The world is not a perfect place. The world will never be a perfect place. But that does not mean that I cannot try, that we cannot try. There is still hope. There is hope for the hopeless, light for the blind, food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, healing for the sick. Perhaps I cannot fix everyone’s physical problems. Maybe I can’t really heal anyone’s physical problems. But that is not what this life is about. Life is so short to be wasted on myself. It is too short to be wasted on anyone but those who are lost, those who need to be served. It is true, sometimes I too need help, but that is not my job. It is my job to bring love to those who have none, to be a friend, a sister. It is my job to love because love is unconditional. Love is irreplaceable. To be loved is the greatest gift of all. Without love, I have nothing. I am nothing. All I need is love. And that is really what we are all searching for. It will fill all of our deepest needs. It will bring hope to the hopeless, it will bring light to the blind, it will feed the hungry, it will hydrate the thirsty, it will heal the sick. Of faith, hope, and love, love is the greatest. It is the greatest of all. Love is meant to save, it is meant to fulfill. It is meant to heal. It is meant to mend. This is what I have learned. This is what I had to discover in a world so poor, in a country that has nothing, and still goes unnoticed. I was blind in a world of everything. I guess all it took was one look at the world of nothing: one trip down the street, one meal at dinner, one day at the mission. All it took was one week, and since then, my life has never been the same. As I think about my trips, as I think about the time I have spent in Haiti, it feels more and more like home to me. And each time I leave, I leave a piece of my heart behind, a piece of me behind. And each time I leave, I leave my family behind because even though I’m not truly home, it feels like home because of the people I love and the people that love me. It’s not where you are, it’s who you’re with. Home is where the heart is, and the heart is with family. My friend asked me last night if it was a drag to be home. And I honestly answered, yes. It’s just not the same. In Haiti, there is no hot water, no air conditioning, no dishwasher, no laundry machine or dryer, no electricity, no road laws. There is unbearable heat, mosquitoes, cockroaches, dirt, dust, pink eye, burning trash. And of course, there is a lot of chicken and rice. But as I lay in bed, lying on top of wet sheets as the fan blows hot air into my face, I realize there is no other place I’d rather be. Actually, I know there is no other place I would rather be. I love everything about it and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Ever. Because I wake up every morning to the sun, I wake up every morning to a new day full of hope and life. I wake up and know that maybe I can touch someone’s life. I know that there is appreciation. I know that there is a light in the darkness. I know that there is love. And love always remains.
No comments:
Post a Comment