Haitians

Every now and then we get a reminder of just how fortunate we are, and that we really have nothing at all to complain about. Such was the case for me on Wednesday morning during the closing worship of the post-World Conference International Leaders Meeting. The communion service was led by the field leaders from various African nations as well as those from Haiti.

For me, the needed reminder came as a Haitian brother stood to lead the singing. He did so with wonderful joy and true love of God. You could hear it in his voice and see it in the look on his face. I thought of the pictures of the devastation in his country following the recent earthquake there. I thought of the tent cities that house so much of the population, of the rains that now fall on those leaky tents, and of the mud that surrounds them. I do not know if this brother’s home was destroyed in the earthquake or not, but so many of our brothers and sisters lives were turned upside down and inside out that day. And yet here they were, singing their love for God in songs of praise and blessing! Could I do the same in their circumstance? Could you?

President Veazey, the Presiding Bishops and others have all talked a lot about generosity in the past week or so. As the church’s financial fortunes have declined recently, we have all been urged to give more. To be honest, I thought I was being generous, but as I watched and listened to the singing during this service, I realized my generosity does not compare to the generosity of spirit exhibited by our Haitian brothers and sisters. They, who have lost so much, sing, dance, and pray with all they have and all they are. Their love for God is humbling, and at the same time, inspiring.

Not for the first time, I pray God’s rich blessing on these resilient people. But now I also pray that I might learn to love God at least half as much they do. To paraphrase the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3, may there no longer be Haitian and Canadian Christians; American and African. May we all be one in Christ Jesus.

May we each know we are blessed by God’s abundant grace today, and may we truly experience heart-felt gratitude.

Posted by Carman