Whenever I think of treasure – I think of how long it takes to get it – how far one must voyage to come upon it – and what value it may possess when all is said and done. We walked a lot today, through the mountains and Haitian jungle villages – down mysterious paths and countryside to beautiful, remote outlooks, and hills that kept on rolling up, waiting for Jean-Jean, our lead building man to indicate we’d arrived.
I love how God knows and responds to the desires of our hearts. I love how God sometimes sends us on treasure hunts to literally hold precious treasure we might miss if we were looking too hard, or not looking at all. I expressed yesterday, a desire to interact more with the kiddos we encounter – instead of going about my house building constantly (which is fairly comfortable, easy, and productive for me).
We made two stops today on our great, twisting, hill-winding adventure. Little did I know, there was treasure waiting to be held — it’s literally as if God handed me kids today and said, “Love them Christy.”
The first house we went to I saw a little girl running in the yard. A Haitian man scooped her up like a princess and handed her to me muttering something in Creole with a giant smile. She was content sitting in my lap, smiling, and eating corn on the cob piece by piece. I never touched a nail the entire time I was there…but I knew I’d held something more precious than a pat on the back for busting out a tarp house in record time…
The second house was on an empty lot. Earthquake rubble scattered itself throughout the dooryard, and what I imagine to once have been a beautiful house in the mountains – was now nothing more than a pile of rebar, and crushed up cement. Grabbing my hammer, I began to pound away – hoping to somehow “redeem myself” from the lack of work I’d put into the last house, by working extra hard on this one. Rounding the corner of wall #3, I spotted a baby, sitting alone on a piece of wood – looking directly at me.
As if some invisible string was tied to me, I found myself being pulled toward the child. I sat beside her, clutching my hammer “Hum…maybe I can hold her after…” She smiled. Nope. I scooped her up and we began instant friends. She was no more than 8-9 months perhaps, and rested her head on my chest + shoulder. I stood up and walked my hammer back to the house. Tossing it to the ground, I sought out some shade to keep the baby cool in. When it came time to leave this house, I was torn. I’d found treasure and couldn’t fathom leaving it…
I realized today that twenty minutes, or and hour of baby holding is more eternally significant and Kingdom beneficial than nailing four walls on a house – that two tarp houses are better than none – and that walking a long way to find treasure is ALWAYS worth it. I held treasure today, literally in my arms – and I believe my motivation for “doing” is forever changed.
