Gravity

Every morning I wake up and hit the floor I feel compression. Might be my age or my back injury, but I feel the pull of gravity, of that force of nature that pulls everything in earths atmosphere to it surface or even deeper if you find a crevasse or hole in the ground. When we fly into Haiti a different form of gravity begins to tug on me, its the gravity of circumstance. It begins to tug on my understanding of reality, to challenge my pretenses and my Americanized posture. Gravity always pulls down, but to fly we have to find ways to defy it. Whenever we enter Haiti we encounter a spirit that is indomitable! The weight of a broken democracy, terrible economics, hazardous country decaying and eroding, harsh and unforgiving crushes down unforgivably upon this amazing and profound people. No living soul deserves this, and yet it exists. You cannot help but be moved as you experience these incredible people steeped in such a desperate climate, and yet their spirits soar against the weight of it all, they mount up on wings as eagles and soar to heights unknown to most. And I marvel, my heart wrestles with the massive equations that are their lives and culture and spirit. As you speak with them you find many old souls in such young frames, frames battered by poverty, filth, and diseases that are often never named because the facilities and doctors don't exist for diagnosis. And the young turned old quickly, their bodies too soon follow their souls, one moment they are there and the next they vanish. Every trip seems to bring tidings of the loss of life, and yet a certain triumph flows through this community. Oh to learn their grace and patience, to be able to rise amidst the weight that seeks to draw us down. I am so grateful for the opportunity my kids have to live among this culture, to work and sing and pray along side of them, to spread hope and hugs and the love of Christ. To hold the broken, and learn of their ways. Mission work as endorsed by God has a dual purpose we are discovering, for in helping others you end up cutting certain forces of gravity in your own life, and are able to climb to new heights of understanding and freedom above the staggering and often suffocating reality called life. You find abundance not realized in things, an abundance of the heart. All the little things we take for granted, all the false things we place so much stock in, get measured out among these stunning people. Are they perfect? No way, on some counts you find abrasive and harsh treatment of their own. As I have said before, it is a cruel land, not volatile for the folks are too hungry to fight, but it is violent on their bodies, erosion and litter have devoured everything fertile, and yet they shine in community, they share willingly of the little they possess, and when they smile, it crushes the barrenness of their country with light and joy that is other worldly. This photo captures the glow that exists in the hearts of people. This is a fresh picture of Robinson and his wife. It begins to capture what exists in darkness, and how bright the light shines! May we find our wings, may my children find theirs! Blessings all.