lessons from haiti…
this past sunday a man from our church shared about his recent trip to haiti. as a medical doctor, he spent a week or so helping those in need of medical care. as he shared with us on sunday, there were several things he said that really challenged and inspired me.
first of all, he shared a story of a woman who told him that his presence there reminded her that god had not forgotten her. what a profound and powerful statement. as i reflected on this, i realized that this is true whether we are in haiti or in our own neighborhoods. our presence in the lives of others can serve as a reminder for them that god has not forgotten them. it offers them a sense of hope and encouragement – and a realization that they are not alone…that they matter. this is why it is so important for us to do life together with other people.
in addition to this, another thought he shared that challenged and inspired me was the comment that he can no longer convince himself that he can do just as much by financially supporting people who are doing the work. he realized that there is an element of the work god wants to do in his life and in the lives of others through him, that can only happen as he engages in the work himself and gets his own hands dirty. again, as i reflected on this, i realized that this truth is true for all of us here just as much as it was true for him there. to simply support financially those who are doing the work – pastors, missionaries, ministry leaders – without joining in the work ourselves…this will never be enough. it’s not that supporting people financially is not a great thing…because it is. but there are certain things we will only experience when we engage ourselves.
