3 Points to Ponder
- “Just because it is hard and will hurt doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. What is hard and hurts right now but you need to keep doing because it is the right thing to do?”
- “When a child dies, it breaks my heart, as such potential is snuffed out before it can blossom. Yet, day after day, so many children die in the darkness across our world. Their stories need to be told.”
- “This world will never make complete sense, so stop pretending it will all add up. Instead, look for the people of hope, the moments of peace, and the connection to God and others. Don’t throw those away just because something senseless crosses your path.”
2 Quotes to Share
“An angel in the book of life wrote down my baby’s name. Then whispered as she closed the book ‘too beautiful for earth’.” – Unknown
“That is what compassion does. It challenges our assumptions, our sense of self-limitation, worthlessness, of not having a place in the world, our feelings of loneliness and estrangement.” -Sharon Salzberg
1 Story of Impact
Today I received a text from our Director of Ministry in Haiti. “Saintoshper, Anospher’s oldest, seated behind his sister Milinda in this picture, died this morning from an injury suffered at the site of a sugar cane press. The funeral will probably be tomorrow morning.”
Saintoshper was nine years old. This family is one of the economically poorest families I know in Haiti. Mom and Dad have suffered years of trauma, malnutrition, and now are a bit mentally slow, so finding well-paying work has been few and far between. We’ve known this family for a long time, as Anospher (the father) has a collection of homemade instruments from throwaway objects he uses for praise and worship at church. I’m sure Saintoshper was working to earn some extra income for his family and Haitian sugar cane presses are notoriously dangerous for crushing accidents. None of this is fair, as this family was dealt a tough hand in one of the world’s toughest places. What do you do when none of this adds up and it all seems overwhelming? How do you make sense of the senseless? For me, I first thank God I have the ability to hurt for this family. I know this family and I’ve been in their house. I felt the pain when I read those words because it meant I cared. Second, I trust in Jesus to make all the wrongs right in His time. I have enough faith to look beyond this life into something greater and I believe Saintoshper is part of this plan. Lastly, it is from the deepest wounds where God carves into my soul the reservoir to retain more joy to fuel me to help create a better future for tomorrow. This was not God’s design, as this world has been tainted and stained through the sin of greed, power, and oppression. There is more than enough in this world to help care for Anospher’s family, but we haven’t figured out a way for it to flow to all who need it. This won’t be the last child who dies senselessly in places like Haiti or the United States, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have an obligation to do something to prevent it in the future. What is one of the senseless problems of this world that has your name on it? How do you continue to move forward, even when tragedy happens? What are you doing about it today?
