A bottle of Da Vinci Chianti and a journal. If I were writing a script, I’d detail the fantastic red heels casually askew on the floor, the lights intentionally turned off by the protagonist. But alas, this is my life, not a screenplay. A cute girly outfit has been recently comfortabilized by pajama bottoms, but all 3 of the gold necklaces remain in place. It’s like I’m split between two worlds.
I smell the chianti before I taste it and I hear the sounds drift up from downstairs. A man named Jack is saving the world, yet again. It never ceases to amaze me, that these are 8 days (24 hour periods, nonetheless – when DOES this man sleep) in Jack’s life. I suppose it’s not that this is one week (plus) but that this is 8 days spread out over the course of years. Apparently, he ages well.
I am Jack’s Medulla Oblongata.
I listened to two men talk from the stage tonight, talk of Haiti. Of orphans and earthquakes, of destruction and devastation, of starvation and thirst, of hopeless hearts and dying children. While 80% of this nation regularly practices voodoo and worships pagan gods:
the name that escaped from the lips of the masses, the name that reverberated from the walls of the village, the name that radiated from their vibrating, flailing, screaming bodies was none other than
Jesus.
Philippians 2:9-11:
Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Chris is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I have to acknowledge that Truth is Truth, even if we don’t recognize it as such by our actions or beliefs. This consistently floors me.
Yahweh, God, our Father, is in the process of bringing relief to Haiti. It is through non-profits, Christians, aid workers, and people who have a compassionate heart and soul that he works. Right now, the infrastructure is beyond repair, deconstructed by the Earth’s quivering, heaving, moaning spirit. (I pause here to think of Romans 8:22 & Luke 19:40) It will take years upon years to rebuild. It can seem overwhelming, but you can help. You can make a difference.
The men who spoke tonight are with the organization Les Pwa . They used to live and work with an orphanage in a small city about 20 miles outside of Port au Prince. They will be the last to receive aid, as even Port au Prince is struggling to feed and water its 3 million inhabitants. People are dying as I type this. People are scared; people are hungry. Children are being abused. Looting and rioting is taking place.
Nonetheless, God is in control of it all. I imagine that those locked inside the reality of the situation (which I cannot even begin to fathom or imagine, tucked away safely in my well lit home in Central Florida) cannot see or understand this. I wouldn’t either, I’m certain. But I have faith in a God who is bigger than this situation, who knew of it before a molecule of material came into existence, and who will bring significant Good from this drastic, life-changing scenario.
Earlier tonight, I wrote this as I sat and took in the stories of these men: “The dramatic difference of the daily life I live versus the daily life of someone like the Skinners of Watoto Village (Uganda), is immeasurable. I am frequently terrified and overwhelmed by the idea of living such a different lifestyle. But every now and then, I see a glimpse of the Glory of such living, and recognize that being so far removed, so isolated, from such immense need and suffering is far, far more lethal.
I want to remember this.
Because the path of my life is beginning to take shape. I see the vague outlines, plans, and ideas that God might have for me. And I recognize that my passion, my heart, and my desires (at the deepest level) do not align with living in such great comfort in the United States for my entire life. I do not judge that lifestyle, and fully expect to partially enjoy it during certain seasons, but I see my future to lie distant from it during different periods.
And I am still terrified by the unknown, but I am not, and will never be, conquered.
Romans 8:37-39:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord.
Selah.