Haiti is not a place of isolation; it is a place of congestion. While you see a few country houses all by themselves, there are large portions of the country that have nothing, and then a village. These people don’t profess to be self-sustaining. There is no pride of independence. They do not demand the spatial requirements of our society. Their churches are not full at 85%. In our 20’ x 21’ children’s tent we had 150 children on Sunday morning. When in Haiti, you cannot help but rub shoulders with these people, literally! If you are claustrophobic, you probably shouldn’t go. On Sunday morning I get to observe people proximity. As I help serve communion, we are literally crawling around, over and through people, and there is never a negative exchange. Patience abounds for one another. They have issues, don’t get me wrong, but they really aren’t afforded the luxury of carrying grudges for a long time. Grudges are significant life threatening circumstances. You really can’t afford to live ostracized from people. Your life depends on them. That is one great quality about this land. Even the crooks get extra chances at redemption. It’s all about relationships. Forgiveness abounds, we could stand a little of that ourselves. We get so territorial not realizing all the time we are driven by our space guarding right into isolation, and from there to oblivion. Separated (and not in the good way), powerless, and uninvolved, we join the bystanders who rail and shout and gloat, but fail to affect the outcome of a life, fail to score because they left the court, or worse, didn’t know they had been recruited for the team! I miss rubbing shoulders with our Haitian family tonight. I miss having my space invaded; I miss the love and compassion they so freely share. It seems now I am torn between two homes. May God help us to diminish our space requirements; let us become spices in each other lives rather than being compartmentalized foods separated by strict touching rules and spatial requirements. Blessings again!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Congestion
Haiti is not a place of isolation; it is a place of congestion. While you see a few country houses all by themselves, there are large portions of the country that have nothing, and then a village. These people don’t profess to be self-sustaining. There is no pride of independence. They do not demand the spatial requirements of our society. Their churches are not full at 85%. In our 20’ x 21’ children’s tent we had 150 children on Sunday morning. When in Haiti, you cannot help but rub shoulders with these people, literally! If you are claustrophobic, you probably shouldn’t go. On Sunday morning I get to observe people proximity. As I help serve communion, we are literally crawling around, over and through people, and there is never a negative exchange. Patience abounds for one another. They have issues, don’t get me wrong, but they really aren’t afforded the luxury of carrying grudges for a long time. Grudges are significant life threatening circumstances. You really can’t afford to live ostracized from people. Your life depends on them. That is one great quality about this land. Even the crooks get extra chances at redemption. It’s all about relationships. Forgiveness abounds, we could stand a little of that ourselves. We get so territorial not realizing all the time we are driven by our space guarding right into isolation, and from there to oblivion. Separated (and not in the good way), powerless, and uninvolved, we join the bystanders who rail and shout and gloat, but fail to affect the outcome of a life, fail to score because they left the court, or worse, didn’t know they had been recruited for the team! I miss rubbing shoulders with our Haitian family tonight. I miss having my space invaded; I miss the love and compassion they so freely share. It seems now I am torn between two homes. May God help us to diminish our space requirements; let us become spices in each other lives rather than being compartmentalized foods separated by strict touching rules and spatial requirements. Blessings again!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Thank you for the continued posts :) We as people do need to forget that it's rude to "rub shoulders" When coming back from Haiti, it is hard to NOT miss the companionship and togetherness you feel when you are there.... We have so much to learn from the less fortunate.... or as I see it... they are more fortunate than us... The power of touch is an amazing healer! (from the mouth of a massage therapist) Never shall we forget these amazing people! We have alot to learn from them! :)
Post a Comment