I get stressed out a lot. I don’t know why really. Because I have a lot to do? Because the things I’m doing are somehow so important that they necessitate me freaking out? As I sit in here Sierra Leone…I’m confused. The past two days have been so busy. But they have been the most joyful. Sure there was a moment during Arts and Crafts day yesterday where we had 25 boys running amuck, not paying attention that I thought I might loose my cool for a moment. But then I took a deep breath. In and out. I forget to breathe. Even if I don’t show it on the outside, sometimes inside my head I want to punch something when my to-do list is too long or the traffic is not fast enough or the man in line at the store does something that annoys me, or something doesn’t go my way. What does any of it matter? Just breathe. There’s a youth pastor named Rob Bell that did a series of videos called ‘Nooma’ videos and one of my favorites is entitled ‘Breathe.’ He says God is as close as the air we breathe. Each breath we take in and out we can feel the very existence of the God who created us. The exuberant fun we have had the past few days has reminded me just that!
Yesterday we had ‘Arts and Crafts Day’ at the center. We took each room group after nap-time and gave them a wooden cross to decorate with paint pens, glue and colorful beads! It was meticulous to organize, but it went well! Grandma Linda and Stacey stayed in the back of the room and painted the girls fingernails and toenails and the boys played outside while they waited on their turn…at the end we had 70 some odd decorated crosses drying on the balcony! It was so awesome watching each of them decorate their cross in their own unique way. Encouraging them, helping them. It was so great!
Then this morning we finished the playroom!! All of the bins are organized, nursery rhymes hanging on the walls, dress up clothes hung on colorful hooks, encouraging words and animal faces hung on the wall, stuffed animals aligning the book shelves…it’s exactly how we envisioned it! We had an arts and crafts table made for the main room and hung a mural on the wall of Noah and the Ark with a heading that says “God Keeps His Promises.” And tomorrow we’ll finish off the whole project by finishing our “Reading Corner” where there will be encouraging Bible Verses hanging from a fish net along the wall! We broke it in by giving the teen mom’s a break and bringing their babies up to draw and play with puzzles. Regina and Mariatu are the two teen mom’s at The Center. They each have two children. Once they joined us with their kiddos we gave each of them a purse with nail polish, perfume and lotion and gave the toddlers some dress up clothes. Then…the dance party of all dance parties began! Dancing with them was nothing but pure joy. Unabandoned joy. Nothing better.
This afternoon we also went to “Sports Day.” Sports Day is a huge event that each school puts on. There are 7 of the older kids at the center who go to Secondary school and participate in many of the track and field events. We got to go and sit in the stands and watch them run, jump, relay etc…I have never felt more like a proud mother than I did today! We cheered the loudest…our kids were the best…and I’m sure that Isatu has a future as an Olympic Athlete in the Long Jump! Encouragement. Another incredible uninhibited, joyful, stress free experience. The thing I noticed the most was how beautiful it was watching two of the heads of the Center, Pastor Daniel and Uncle Daniel, encouraging the kids and playing the role of “Father” for them as they competed. Don’t you remember how it felt to look in the stands when you were younger and see your parents cheering you on? Or if you didn’t play sports…to look out in the audience out of the corner of your eye and see them watching you perform? It was the best wasn’t it? You never felt more proud. Take a breath! Life is beautiful!
The past two days I have been constantly reminded of every breath I take. And how joyful that is. Not stressful. Joyful. It’s in the moments when we breathe, sit back and just enjoy the fullness of life that we are captivated by our very existence! What if each day we took a moment to dance around uninhibited? What if we took time to encourage the people we care about…but tend to forget about because we are constantly going…because we don’t breathe. To forget the stress of our to-do list or forget the little annoyances that we make a huge deal in our mind and just live.
Tonight we went to prayer time with the teen mom’s and their caretaker Auntie Alice asked me to explain why I think a relationship with God is so wonderful. I smiled and looked down into the big brown eyes and smile of the adorable little 2 year-old baby girl, Zainab, that I held in my arms and had my answer right in front of me. When I look into the eyes of a child, up at the stars, the moon, the sky…every thing…every specimen…every molecule…all the life around me…I know without a doubt that I have a relationship with unconditional light and love…that no matter what darkness may come to me or anyone around me that there is light and assurance of a God who is so powerful, so mighty that he gave us life. He breathed into us. And if he breathed into me…shouldn’t my response be to breathe in each day to the fullest? Why stress? Why not just live out beauty? Life is beautiful. ☺
Hope You See the Beauty in Your Life Today,
Regina
P.S. For all my theological and seminary minded friends….I apologize for my constant use of the ‘masculine’ in reference to God…you may insert whatever gender you feel necessary to encompass his magnitude. ☺
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Take Your Love Wherever You Go
Here is a recap of the past couple days:
This whole morning consisted of me sleeping in bed with a stomach bug. I was not feeling the greatest so I resorted to my top bunk bed. Jesus healed me and after my nap I was golden ☺ We created a play room for the kids in the guest house. The TRS guest house is just one building down from the orphanage where all the kids are so it works great to create a play room at the guest house for a group of kids to just walk over anytime to play! Thanks to all of YOU and your crafty donations we were able to create a FUN playroom with crafts, pictures, costumes, books, trucks, baby dolls…. You name it, we had it! We can’t wait to bring them over to play; it will be SO wonderful for them to just be kids. It turned out so so cute! Pictures to come! After we did that we walked over to the center to do some arts and crafts with the kids. We had brought small wooden crosses with us so they all painted and applied beads to them. We explained that the cross represents Jesus dying for us on the cross and taking away our sins, and all the colors and beads remind us that Jesus rose from the dead and his love is now so beautiful and everlasting. They had such a blast being creative. Most of them didn’t understand the concept of applying glue or how it is used. It was so fun to watch on my end while the kids explored their creativity and make something special all on their own.
Later that night we were all really hoping for some water. The pipes broke here at the guesthouse so we have been without running water this whole trip. Bucket baths feel AMAZING at the end of the day! Most nights the security guards or some of the workers at the center would go get buckets of water for us to wash with, but last night we didn’t have any. I walked down to where the teen mothers were sitting outside and asked where the water source was so I could go get myself some water to wash up with. Regina, one of the mothers said she would go with me. We walked down a rocky hill….she was a pro! She laughed at me because it took me so long to get down there. It was dark so I was terrified! I asked her, “Regina, is there snakes down here?” She said yes, and laughed very hard when I grabbed on tight to her! After filling the buckets with water I asked if I could help her carry it up the hill. Without any hesitation she lifted the heavy bucket of water and carried it on her head all the way up to our bathroom. It was the sweetest gesture, and it meant so much to me to have something to wash up with that night. Those few minutes really opened my eyes…… these people work so hard here. We take everyday common occurrences for granted every single day of our lives…..running water, flushing the toilets, driving in the car, and having a roof over our head…. The list could go on and on. We don’t have to walk miles to go get water to drink or bath in, or walk the streets a lone as a young child with no one to love us. Look around you people…. You are so blessed.
Today was the best day of my life. We spent the entire day with the teen mothers that live downstairs with their children. Both of these girls are 20 (just like me) and we bonded so much today. We gave them purses, painted their nails, gave them perfume, and did girly things with them all day. They LOVED it. It was so rewarding to laugh, sing, and dance with them all day….. it was just like spending a day with my girl friends back at home. We share such a tight bond and can’t wait to see each other again. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. We ended the day with them by sitting on the porch with their care giver auntie Alice, their two friends Emmanuel and Santos, the babies, and the Firefleyes team and sang worship songs and prayed. We prayed for thanks and we prayed for the broken. The most special moment was while we were singing and praying I was holding 3 year old Daniel in my lap. I was holding him tight and praying in his ear. It took my breath away sitting with my brand new friends, and sitting under the stars in Sierra Leone. Thank you God….
There is a day dedicated each year all across Sierra Leone to each school hosting a “sports day.” To us in America it would be like a track and field day. Some of the older kids at the center go to school out in the community and don’t attend school with the rest of the kids at the center. The older kids participated in the sports day today. We went to go and cheer them on and MAN was it fun! I felt like a proud mother screaming and yelling for all our little kiddos as they were running around the field! All the locals were looking at us “white people” like we were crazy and plugging their ears. They must not get into sports and cheering on their kids like us Americans do ☺ It was such a great time!! I was so proud!
Tomorrow is our last day in Sierra Leone. I am sitting on the balcony tonight under the stars and looking over all of Freetown reflecting on the past week. I am so grateful to our Lord for bringing these precious people into my life. They will forever be in my heart. Until we all meet when I get back …. I will part with this story to sum up this past week……. Today as we were getting organized and fixing up the playroom we were playing fingerprints of God by Steven Curtis Chapman. I was singing the words right as Auntie Marie (our cook) was walking by. I stopped her and gave her a big big hug and sang these lyrics right in her ear. I then asked if she knew how loved she was. You see…. These people truly are the fingerprints of God. They reflect his love and his grace in their everyday life. Praise God for them….. they have shaped my life in more ways than I ever thought possible….
Taking my love everywhere I go,
Bethany
This whole morning consisted of me sleeping in bed with a stomach bug. I was not feeling the greatest so I resorted to my top bunk bed. Jesus healed me and after my nap I was golden ☺ We created a play room for the kids in the guest house. The TRS guest house is just one building down from the orphanage where all the kids are so it works great to create a play room at the guest house for a group of kids to just walk over anytime to play! Thanks to all of YOU and your crafty donations we were able to create a FUN playroom with crafts, pictures, costumes, books, trucks, baby dolls…. You name it, we had it! We can’t wait to bring them over to play; it will be SO wonderful for them to just be kids. It turned out so so cute! Pictures to come! After we did that we walked over to the center to do some arts and crafts with the kids. We had brought small wooden crosses with us so they all painted and applied beads to them. We explained that the cross represents Jesus dying for us on the cross and taking away our sins, and all the colors and beads remind us that Jesus rose from the dead and his love is now so beautiful and everlasting. They had such a blast being creative. Most of them didn’t understand the concept of applying glue or how it is used. It was so fun to watch on my end while the kids explored their creativity and make something special all on their own.
Later that night we were all really hoping for some water. The pipes broke here at the guesthouse so we have been without running water this whole trip. Bucket baths feel AMAZING at the end of the day! Most nights the security guards or some of the workers at the center would go get buckets of water for us to wash with, but last night we didn’t have any. I walked down to where the teen mothers were sitting outside and asked where the water source was so I could go get myself some water to wash up with. Regina, one of the mothers said she would go with me. We walked down a rocky hill….she was a pro! She laughed at me because it took me so long to get down there. It was dark so I was terrified! I asked her, “Regina, is there snakes down here?” She said yes, and laughed very hard when I grabbed on tight to her! After filling the buckets with water I asked if I could help her carry it up the hill. Without any hesitation she lifted the heavy bucket of water and carried it on her head all the way up to our bathroom. It was the sweetest gesture, and it meant so much to me to have something to wash up with that night. Those few minutes really opened my eyes…… these people work so hard here. We take everyday common occurrences for granted every single day of our lives…..running water, flushing the toilets, driving in the car, and having a roof over our head…. The list could go on and on. We don’t have to walk miles to go get water to drink or bath in, or walk the streets a lone as a young child with no one to love us. Look around you people…. You are so blessed.
Today was the best day of my life. We spent the entire day with the teen mothers that live downstairs with their children. Both of these girls are 20 (just like me) and we bonded so much today. We gave them purses, painted their nails, gave them perfume, and did girly things with them all day. They LOVED it. It was so rewarding to laugh, sing, and dance with them all day….. it was just like spending a day with my girl friends back at home. We share such a tight bond and can’t wait to see each other again. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. We ended the day with them by sitting on the porch with their care giver auntie Alice, their two friends Emmanuel and Santos, the babies, and the Firefleyes team and sang worship songs and prayed. We prayed for thanks and we prayed for the broken. The most special moment was while we were singing and praying I was holding 3 year old Daniel in my lap. I was holding him tight and praying in his ear. It took my breath away sitting with my brand new friends, and sitting under the stars in Sierra Leone. Thank you God….
There is a day dedicated each year all across Sierra Leone to each school hosting a “sports day.” To us in America it would be like a track and field day. Some of the older kids at the center go to school out in the community and don’t attend school with the rest of the kids at the center. The older kids participated in the sports day today. We went to go and cheer them on and MAN was it fun! I felt like a proud mother screaming and yelling for all our little kiddos as they were running around the field! All the locals were looking at us “white people” like we were crazy and plugging their ears. They must not get into sports and cheering on their kids like us Americans do ☺ It was such a great time!! I was so proud!
Tomorrow is our last day in Sierra Leone. I am sitting on the balcony tonight under the stars and looking over all of Freetown reflecting on the past week. I am so grateful to our Lord for bringing these precious people into my life. They will forever be in my heart. Until we all meet when I get back …. I will part with this story to sum up this past week……. Today as we were getting organized and fixing up the playroom we were playing fingerprints of God by Steven Curtis Chapman. I was singing the words right as Auntie Marie (our cook) was walking by. I stopped her and gave her a big big hug and sang these lyrics right in her ear. I then asked if she knew how loved she was. You see…. These people truly are the fingerprints of God. They reflect his love and his grace in their everyday life. Praise God for them….. they have shaped my life in more ways than I ever thought possible….
Taking my love everywhere I go,
Bethany
Thursday, March 10, 2011
All you need is Love...
All you need is Love…
I have been slowly writing small portions of a blog everyday. I have not had time to post them, so thought I would compile them all together in one blog. So here it goes…
Today I met my angel. Today I met the inspiration to get me through the hard days when I head back to the United States. Today I met the biggest miracle I believe God has ever created…… Today I met little Lucy…. Who stole my heart forever. Let me fill you in on Lucy’s story so you can understand my love for this young girl.
Lucy was found abandoned on the beach as a newborn, and seemed to be handicapped. After she was found she was taken to an orphanage that thought of handicapped children as “abnormal” or a “curse.” She was left in a corner for days after days, while her body was withering away. No food, no water, and absolutely no love. After many months Lucy was finally saved and brought into the arms of TRS. Lucy has made SO much progress and now smiles, giggles, WALKS, and can respond to the things we say to her. What was once a girl close to being one of God’s angels is now a miracle in the making, and teaching ME how to enjoy my life for all that it offers. Lucy and I have bonded so much since meeting this week. She runs to me when I put my arms out and her laugh is SO SWEET! She giggles when I walk in the room and loves to play “peek a boo!” Tonight during prayer time before the kids went to bed I rocked Lucy to sleep. She snuggled right in my arms and I said a prayer in her ear thanking our awesome God for his child Lucy, and bringing this piece of joy into my life. I love Lucy with all my heart, and I think you can see why …… Praise God for this little bundle of joy.
I could go on and tell you how many days its been since I have showered, how unbelievably hot it is here, or how long its been since I have had a cold drink of water…… but all that seems so trivial when im surrounded by more love here in Sierra Leone that I never knew even existed. Recently my faith has been tested in so many areas of my life…. Being filled with doubt and worries that have made me question many aspects of my life. When I come to Sierra Leone all those doubts and worries go away… I see the Love of God in every single beautiful face and every smiling child. I find myself having more compassion and love for the people of Sierra Leone this time around. After my first trip I didn’t think my love could get any deeper for these people. They are all a family and always look out for one another. The love that surrounds me here is unlike any other. It’s truly a gift from God.
The guesthouse that our team is staying at runs a teen mom program. The moms and their children live in the basement of where we are staying. Today I walked down there and spent some time with the mothers and their children. Zainab and Hannah are little toddlers and boy are they CUTE!!! They giggle whenever they see me and run up to me to pick them both up. Today Zainab and Hannah sat on my lap out on the porch. (Keep in mind our guesthouse over looks the ocean and is on top of the hill to see all of Freetown) We laughed and played and laughed and played. I remember thinking in those moments that life could not get any better. I also spent some time with the teen mothers and we totally bonded. I asked how old they were and we all came to the realization that we are “sisters for life” because we are all 20! We shared a sister hug and prayed for one another. We thanked God for bringing together his sisters in Christ no matter their skin color and no matter where they live. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know these beautiful girls that I can now call my sisters …..
There is something really humbling about waking up in the morning in Sierra Leone, walking out to the balcony of our guesthouse that over looks the ocean and Freetown, and hearing 80 beautiful children next door singing and saying good morning to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m in Africa. Friends, can I tell you something? We don’t have the kind of love Sierra Leone has back in the US….. we don’t have the kind of respect and compassion for one another as the people do here….. and we sure don’t have the zest for life that comes across here. How is that possible?? We have EVERYTHING we could ever want, and still choose to complain, and treat each other with complete disrespect. The people of Freetown live in garbage, have no roof over their head, and wonder everyday when their next meal will be, yet they have Christ inside their heart and it shows so much.. Its unbelievable. They give thanks to God for everything that they have in their life and praise him for all the blessings he gives them. How cool is that? THAT’S love and THAT’S compassion. We can learn a lot from them ……. I know I have.
Today was beach day! We had a BLAST! It was such a treat to watch the kids truly having so much fun…. They swam and swam and swam alllll day long. They are exhausted now, and so are we! It was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen in my life. Regina and I taught the girls cartwheels, leaps, toe touches, and all kinds of dancing moves. They LOVED it! There was one point while I was sitting in the water with children all around me and I looked up at the sky…. And had to pinch myself to be reminded that I was in Africa. Could it get any better than that? I feel like this trip is just filled with so many of Gods blessings. I am so grateful for the people of Sierra Leone and the love and friendship I share with them. I feel as if I have a family in the United States and a family in Sierra Leone, and I love them just the same.
I have been slowly writing small portions of a blog everyday. I have not had time to post them, so thought I would compile them all together in one blog. So here it goes…
Today I met my angel. Today I met the inspiration to get me through the hard days when I head back to the United States. Today I met the biggest miracle I believe God has ever created…… Today I met little Lucy…. Who stole my heart forever. Let me fill you in on Lucy’s story so you can understand my love for this young girl.
Lucy was found abandoned on the beach as a newborn, and seemed to be handicapped. After she was found she was taken to an orphanage that thought of handicapped children as “abnormal” or a “curse.” She was left in a corner for days after days, while her body was withering away. No food, no water, and absolutely no love. After many months Lucy was finally saved and brought into the arms of TRS. Lucy has made SO much progress and now smiles, giggles, WALKS, and can respond to the things we say to her. What was once a girl close to being one of God’s angels is now a miracle in the making, and teaching ME how to enjoy my life for all that it offers. Lucy and I have bonded so much since meeting this week. She runs to me when I put my arms out and her laugh is SO SWEET! She giggles when I walk in the room and loves to play “peek a boo!” Tonight during prayer time before the kids went to bed I rocked Lucy to sleep. She snuggled right in my arms and I said a prayer in her ear thanking our awesome God for his child Lucy, and bringing this piece of joy into my life. I love Lucy with all my heart, and I think you can see why …… Praise God for this little bundle of joy.
I could go on and tell you how many days its been since I have showered, how unbelievably hot it is here, or how long its been since I have had a cold drink of water…… but all that seems so trivial when im surrounded by more love here in Sierra Leone that I never knew even existed. Recently my faith has been tested in so many areas of my life…. Being filled with doubt and worries that have made me question many aspects of my life. When I come to Sierra Leone all those doubts and worries go away… I see the Love of God in every single beautiful face and every smiling child. I find myself having more compassion and love for the people of Sierra Leone this time around. After my first trip I didn’t think my love could get any deeper for these people. They are all a family and always look out for one another. The love that surrounds me here is unlike any other. It’s truly a gift from God.
The guesthouse that our team is staying at runs a teen mom program. The moms and their children live in the basement of where we are staying. Today I walked down there and spent some time with the mothers and their children. Zainab and Hannah are little toddlers and boy are they CUTE!!! They giggle whenever they see me and run up to me to pick them both up. Today Zainab and Hannah sat on my lap out on the porch. (Keep in mind our guesthouse over looks the ocean and is on top of the hill to see all of Freetown) We laughed and played and laughed and played. I remember thinking in those moments that life could not get any better. I also spent some time with the teen mothers and we totally bonded. I asked how old they were and we all came to the realization that we are “sisters for life” because we are all 20! We shared a sister hug and prayed for one another. We thanked God for bringing together his sisters in Christ no matter their skin color and no matter where they live. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know these beautiful girls that I can now call my sisters …..
There is something really humbling about waking up in the morning in Sierra Leone, walking out to the balcony of our guesthouse that over looks the ocean and Freetown, and hearing 80 beautiful children next door singing and saying good morning to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m in Africa. Friends, can I tell you something? We don’t have the kind of love Sierra Leone has back in the US….. we don’t have the kind of respect and compassion for one another as the people do here….. and we sure don’t have the zest for life that comes across here. How is that possible?? We have EVERYTHING we could ever want, and still choose to complain, and treat each other with complete disrespect. The people of Freetown live in garbage, have no roof over their head, and wonder everyday when their next meal will be, yet they have Christ inside their heart and it shows so much.. Its unbelievable. They give thanks to God for everything that they have in their life and praise him for all the blessings he gives them. How cool is that? THAT’S love and THAT’S compassion. We can learn a lot from them ……. I know I have.
Today was beach day! We had a BLAST! It was such a treat to watch the kids truly having so much fun…. They swam and swam and swam alllll day long. They are exhausted now, and so are we! It was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen in my life. Regina and I taught the girls cartwheels, leaps, toe touches, and all kinds of dancing moves. They LOVED it! There was one point while I was sitting in the water with children all around me and I looked up at the sky…. And had to pinch myself to be reminded that I was in Africa. Could it get any better than that? I feel like this trip is just filled with so many of Gods blessings. I am so grateful for the people of Sierra Leone and the love and friendship I share with them. I feel as if I have a family in the United States and a family in Sierra Leone, and I love them just the same.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Cause the Whole World Needs It
Man, it is so good to be back. I feel like I blinked my eyeballs and I’m back again. Only, there’s no water to shower with…soo…we smell. But, we all smell, so no worries! The first day we met the kids for the Welcome Ceremony and then headed back to organize all of our materials! We’re decorating and organizing an “Arts and Crafts” Center, at The Guest House, to be used by the kids at the center as a “reward” for good behavior. We made some great headway on getting things going and by the end of the week…it’s going to be so great to see it all come to fruition. The rest of today was lots of logistics…taking care of plans with Quami to make sure that our arrangements have been made for all the different projects through out the week. Last night Tina had a dinner party for a few of the staff members at the center and we were able to join them! After we ate we went around the table and all shared our stories with one another. Hearing their stories and sharing our own was so incredible. It was incredibly humbling to listen to their unique willingness to be vulnerable with us. Today we experienced a full day of emotions. We started out at the Hospital where we fed bread, cheese and water to approximately 100 mothers and sat and prayed with them, went to another orphanage in Sierra Leone where we fed a little under 100 kids bread, cheese and water, donated baby dolls, a few soccer balls, left two bags of rice which can feed the kids up to 4 days and baby formula!! After that we went to Kroo Bay again to donate shin guards, jerseys, soccer balls and gave them an update on the process to help them with their soccer field. AND THERE WAS NO MOB! Laugh if you want, I was so glad and thought it was just awesome! We handed things out a little differently than last time, thanks to guidance from Quami and things ran smoothly.
This being my third trip I thought maybe I would have the routine down. But here I sit again after visiting these places and I’m in a daze of contemplation. Not surprised…but dazed. I’ve felt tears up to my neck since the last trip but have been incapable of releasing them. I have a friend back in the U.S. that I have a pretty special bond with and before I left for this trip they said to remember, “Love and Light.” It’s a common phrase we pass back and forth, but every time I hear it…it never fails to bring me comfort. It seems like a simple reminder, but one that I constantly need. Love and Light. But…let’s be honest…sometimes the darkness seems to suffocate the light, don’tcha think?
It makes me think of Firefleyes slogan, ‘Lighting the fire in hearts again.’ That statement means that somewhere along the line…someone took your light. Can someone do that? Can someone actually take the light out of someone? Definitely. Now, don’t get me wrong, we have control over how much we allow someone to affect us, but I’m talking about deep, unthinkable darkness that you feel to your core. I think we all go through periods where we feel our light and ability to love has been taken from us. We see things that are so dark…we feel like we’re drowning in it. We hear of darkness that blows our mind and makes us even wonder if we know what darkness actually is! As a result, I believe a lot of us go through our days with cynicism and negativity wrapped around our hearts even if we claim differently. Can that fire be reignited? Most certainly. But it takes hearts determined for reconciliation and healing. And unfortunately, in our world, there some extreme despicable darkness that almost seems beyond reconciliation. It’s not. It’s just not. As I hug the little bodies of the children at The Center, seeing the pure joy on their faces amidst their brokenness, watching them play, seeing a glimmer of light on a mothers face in the hospital when she smiles for a split second…they have light. They’ve experienced trials that threatened to extinguish that light. But the battle of love and light has and will continue to win.
There’s a song called “Shine Your Light” by David Crowder that says, “Shine your light so all can see it, Shine your light cause the whole world needs it.” The whole world needs it. Not just us. Everyone. These children need people to continue to show up. To be there for them. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Don’t you feel the same in your own life? Don’t you want people who know you need help to continue to be there for you? Think about it with me. Have you ever felt abandoned? Alone? Hopeless? We have a chance to show them that love has come into their lives and it is not going anywhere. It’s here to stay. My heart is overcome and once you know their stories, personalities, hearts…you’re done. It’s over. God calls you to them and says, “Shine your light cause the WHOLE WORLD needs it.” Whatever brokenness you feel in this moment I hope you will know that not only is there someone out there who loves and wants to show up for you…but there are people all over who need YOUR LOVE and LIGHT as well! Don’t let your light extinguish, other people need us ☺
Haven’t Showered Since Sunday Morning…hmmm,
Regina
This being my third trip I thought maybe I would have the routine down. But here I sit again after visiting these places and I’m in a daze of contemplation. Not surprised…but dazed. I’ve felt tears up to my neck since the last trip but have been incapable of releasing them. I have a friend back in the U.S. that I have a pretty special bond with and before I left for this trip they said to remember, “Love and Light.” It’s a common phrase we pass back and forth, but every time I hear it…it never fails to bring me comfort. It seems like a simple reminder, but one that I constantly need. Love and Light. But…let’s be honest…sometimes the darkness seems to suffocate the light, don’tcha think?
It makes me think of Firefleyes slogan, ‘Lighting the fire in hearts again.’ That statement means that somewhere along the line…someone took your light. Can someone do that? Can someone actually take the light out of someone? Definitely. Now, don’t get me wrong, we have control over how much we allow someone to affect us, but I’m talking about deep, unthinkable darkness that you feel to your core. I think we all go through periods where we feel our light and ability to love has been taken from us. We see things that are so dark…we feel like we’re drowning in it. We hear of darkness that blows our mind and makes us even wonder if we know what darkness actually is! As a result, I believe a lot of us go through our days with cynicism and negativity wrapped around our hearts even if we claim differently. Can that fire be reignited? Most certainly. But it takes hearts determined for reconciliation and healing. And unfortunately, in our world, there some extreme despicable darkness that almost seems beyond reconciliation. It’s not. It’s just not. As I hug the little bodies of the children at The Center, seeing the pure joy on their faces amidst their brokenness, watching them play, seeing a glimmer of light on a mothers face in the hospital when she smiles for a split second…they have light. They’ve experienced trials that threatened to extinguish that light. But the battle of love and light has and will continue to win.
There’s a song called “Shine Your Light” by David Crowder that says, “Shine your light so all can see it, Shine your light cause the whole world needs it.” The whole world needs it. Not just us. Everyone. These children need people to continue to show up. To be there for them. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Don’t you feel the same in your own life? Don’t you want people who know you need help to continue to be there for you? Think about it with me. Have you ever felt abandoned? Alone? Hopeless? We have a chance to show them that love has come into their lives and it is not going anywhere. It’s here to stay. My heart is overcome and once you know their stories, personalities, hearts…you’re done. It’s over. God calls you to them and says, “Shine your light cause the WHOLE WORLD needs it.” Whatever brokenness you feel in this moment I hope you will know that not only is there someone out there who loves and wants to show up for you…but there are people all over who need YOUR LOVE and LIGHT as well! Don’t let your light extinguish, other people need us ☺
Haven’t Showered Since Sunday Morning…hmmm,
Regina
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