“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4
There was a post on Facebook recently sharing news that a Christian group from the U.S. was sending a shipping container of pre-packaged and prepared ‘meals’ in bags ready to boil and a few pallets of jars of peanut butter to Haiti. Members of this have told me that they are doing God’s work and I take a deep breath and consider, who am I to judge how the Holy Spirit has moved them. We all serve the Triune God and have a room waiting in our Creator’s House. Haitian children at schools Trinity HOPE feeds are enjoying rice and beans purchased in Haiti and prepared in Haiti by a Haitian cook. It is delicious, and this I know, because there are never any leftovers. The waste basket is usually empty. Haitian peanut butter is called ‘Mamba’, and I have purchased it and brought it home because it is superior to the stuff that we have on our shelves. Sending food to Haiti has been happening for many generations and it continues to do incredible harm to the local vendors. Trinity HOPE has been purchasing food from local vendors for 27 years and will continue to help and not harm the Haitian economy. Today, I close with the last verse from the ‘Blessing’ song by Laura Story.
“When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win, we know that pain reminds this heart that this is not, this is not our home; it's not our home. 'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears and what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if my greatest disappointments or the achings of this life is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy and what if trials of this life; the rain, the storms, the hardest nights are Your mercies in disguise?”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.