Words are a wonderful thing. Everything about a word fascinates me: the meanings, associations, even the sounds. And to think one of the biggest means of communication in this day in age has something to do with a word just amazes me. As many of you know me, I can be a bit of a stickler for rules. In fact, my family jokes and says I am going to be a future Nurse Ratchet. Ever since I was a little girl, I would run in fear of breaking one single rule and everything had to be routine or in order. I would cross my t’s and dot my I’s the same way no matter the time or situation. I don’t know why this is the case, but I think I was afraid that I would fail to meet up to my own expectations. People say that your family expectations play a role in everything. Although I believe that to be true, I still think I was the center of every problem. I pushed myself too hard and was not satisfied with failing to reach my goal in sight. As I have been maturing throughout the years, I have loosened up the reins a little and have literally stepped out of my comfort zone: 3 international trips, 3 different part-time jobs, and two years of a college education. I have decided to be spontaneous. And I discovered the hurt, yet incredible joy of life. These new experiences have shaped the way I think about words and even the way I think about the human race.
On this cold rainy night, all I can think about is the sadden world that we live in today. The Boston Bombing, the massacre at Sandy Hook, poverty, war, sickness, and dying orphaned children. It just makes me sick to my stomach. It is not fair. Why must children live in the slums of the streets and in the bitter chill of cold? Why can’t they have what I am blessed with everyday? Why are innocent people killed in seconds by hardened hearts? Why do people go to bed with no food, and I sometimes go to bed so stuffed that I can’t even breathe? Although I do not understand why these things happen the way they do, I recognize that there is a problem. A problem where people have lost hope, comfort, the Truth. And all I want to do is show them that I know a God that is there through it all. I know that His love is all we need. He is our Hope, Comfort, Truth, and Life especially in this hurting time.
This past year I spent a few weeks in the outskirts of Guatemala City, Guatemala. I worked in an orphanage called Casa Bernabé, which houses about 200 children ranging from 1day to 20 years old. At the orphanage, I met the most beautiful children I have ever seen in my entire life. I cannot even begin to explain how much this experience changed my life and my view of the world. Going into the trip, I thought that I would be able to change the kids’ lives so much. Rather, instead of changing their lives, they completely changed mine. I am no longer the spoiled, self-centered girl that I once was. I learned that the word, unpredictability, was a good thing. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into before the trip. I didn’t even know if I’d be safe. I now have a broader view of the world and a greater appreciation for life and the preservation of life. Also, I have this incredible understanding of God, and how He can turn terribly heartbreaking situations such as what happened to a teenage girl I met, and turn it into a life changing, on fire for God.
What I saw and discovered is indescribable and disturbing. When I would hear the stories about the children, I could not do anything but ask why would God let these bad things happen to these beautiful children. A person, let alone a child, should never have to experience these circumstances. To think, these children that I met live in one of the poorest countries in Latin America, and any hope from international adoption is far from a possibility. Despite all the wonder and the dismay from Guatemala’s adoption decision, as Christians we are called to love and care for the widowed, orphaned, sick, poor, and hurting. That is exactly what I am going to do. I cannot change the situation, but I can make this tough situation less intimidating. Although I cannot take these children out of orphanages, I can bring joy to their faces. I can volunteer my time, my money, and my resources so I can show the love of Christ. My heart is with those children. I would not want it any other way. Now in our own country after the tragedies in the past couple years, we are in a transitionperiod, after many years of happiness and success to a period of sadness, war, poverty, and even death. This period is extremely difficult to even comprehend. With that being said, I challenge you all to pray. Pray for the hurting. Pray for the lost. Pray that we will find our Hope because He is all we need. Be spontaneous and reach out to someone you don’t know. I know, the outcomes are very unpredictable. But you never know, they might be hurting in this transition period.
No comments:
Post a Comment