Refrigerator (Pastor)

As we chatted for a few with the kids tonight, we are all looking forward to the upcoming reuniting of our family in just 4 days. They are full of stories and insights, culture and characters, of victories and defeats. So much to say, but so little time. Beth has been cleaning and readying the house for their return. At one point she turned the camera on the little FaceTime app around to give them a glimpse of her work and the house. It was fun to listen to them revel in the rooms they have not seen for months. As she ended their little tour in the kitchen Kelly said, "hey, what's in the refrigerator?" Beth advised him that there wasn't much, we have had little in stock since they have been gone. But now Krystle chimed in and asked as well. We pulled the doors open for them and really, there wasn't much in the refrigerator...at least from our perspective! Suddenly there were excited exchanges taking place between brother and sister. "Oh," says Krystle, "there's mustard!" Kelly says, "there's Ketchup!" "There's tomato's! There's eggs! There's hamburger!" And the delight on the other end of the phone was palpable, and the listing continued. I'm looking at an empty refrigerator for our house, but they see something different. As I close the doors, they both say, "open it back up!" I was struck once again by perspective. Stripped of a refrigerator for 3 months, keeping stuff cold only with ice in a cooler which has been pretty much drinks only, they could see what I could not, they appreciated what to me was nothing. It's going to be quite a change for my kids coming home, and quite a change again for me, I will get to breathe the fresh air of a different view of our culture and "stuff".  We are grateful our kids have been brave enough, strong enough, and loved these people enough to set themselves aside at this age in their lives to go and minister while separating from so many luxuries they didn't even realize they had. They are beginning to open up and share things that they couldn't really afford to talk about just to be able to survive from day to day. Sharing the shattering and devastation they felt as the team left and they stayed behind, of when their Grandpa came and once again left them behind. As we were finishing up, I said to them, imagine what it's like to be dropped at an orphanage at age six and never to return to the life you had known. Such was the dilemma of Robinson, our Haitian pastor, Orphanage director, and leader of all the ministries we are engaged in Haiti. They were both shaking their heads. I was too, because even I was receiving fresh perspective tonight through my kids. I am ungrateful! Not intentionally, not on purpose, but because I take it all for granted. We all do, until something is stripped away, we are prone not to see or appreciate it. Relationships, family, cars, homes, food, pets, stores, jobs,... the list is endless. For me on so many levels, as I have worked and sacrificed to help Robinson help his people, I often come away feeling like I'm the one who has been helped the most. A culture with nothing, through it's suffering and pain, rebukes me for taking all I have for granted. So the next time you grab that refrigerator door and pull it open, and groan and mutter about the lack of contents, remember this post, take a second look, get a new perspective, for in reality, you are looking at far more than most of the world. I'm working on being more grateful for less! After a few minutes with my kids tonight, a few thousand miles apart, I found out I still have a long ways to go! Blessings Always!