the color red

I realized that I haven't posted a single thing since my trip to Haiti. It's time that I blogged about it to rekindle the fire. If you've never been on an international missions trip then I highly suggest you go. Don't even think about "praying about it", just go. Because what are you really waiting for? For an audible "Yes" from God and for your timeline to line up together? Read your Bible. I'm pretty sure God will say something like "Go" but you look and let me know where it is. 

What has happened since my trip: ahh yaaah yahh. I can't even seem to formulate the words. When I came back I was literally sick at all the pride, judgement, and comparison that we as Americans have. It was a struggle to find compassion for the people in my life who complained about not having enough money, how big or small their house is, how better of a parent they were to their children verses others parents, what car they had, how much they served in church, all these day to day things. It took me a couple of weeks to realize that I was becoming intolerant of the ignorance that people had for the world. For the needs of this world. I didn't have this ah ha moment on my trip. It came way later. I waited and I watched.

I watched my husband. Anyone who knows my husband, knows that Haiti changed him. I think God wanted me to be present during the trip for his change. The Haiti trip wasn't for me. It was others, even my husband. He came back with a fire in his heart for people, people in Haiti and people that we incounter every single day. I am so lucky. He has always put the needs of me before his but the spark was different. And it wasn't just my needs I noticed. It was everyone else's needs before his. When he talked about living, it was with a passion, not with a harden heart. Watching him changed what I was feeling inside of me. 

One of the monumental moments I had in Haiti was when I was making a Sunday School type craft with one of the girls from an orphanage on the compound where we were staying. I was helping her pick out some stickers and I suggested we use her favorite color. She asked what mine was and I told her purple. She asked me why? Kind of an odd question and I didn't really have an answer. I just told her it was my favorite and I liked everything from light purple to dark purple. She smile and told me her favorite was red. Even though I didn't have an answer for her I figured she must have a reason she liked the color red. So I asked her why? You know what she told me? She grabbed my hand, smiled and looked right into me and said "Oh, I just love red! Red is the color of my blood and it's the color of Jesus' blood and it runs right through my veins". It felt like time stood still as she traced her finger along my forearm.

She is right too. For all of us. God came and lived as a man. No matter what you believe. Jesus was and is a real person. Most of us are okay with trusting God with our eternity because eternity isn't something we know anything about. But what about the day to day things. Our marriage, our finances, our parenting, our future here on earth. We have such a hard time trusting what Jesus came to say. When most people think of Christianity they think of a bunch of laid out rules but if you read the Bible.. Jesus preached the very opposite. The majority of the time he was angered with the "religious" people. He told us, he was the way and the way was simple. Love God. And Love People. Forget the rest. 

I had to learn that. Haiti helped me come to terms with that. It's a daily struggle because there isn't a thank you or a pat on the back to greet you at the end of the day. At times it's the opposite. But loving God and loving people is what I am called to do.... It is red and it is what runs through my veins.