Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.
Mother Teresa
The first time I ever stepped on a plane was when I was 17 years old, heading to Guatemala (first with a lay over in Texas) with my Global Education class to work at an orphanage.
I was nervous about going on the trip because I had never really been away from home before, especially away from home with planes involved. Though the plane ride was scary, a mom was sitting behind me and offered her hand during take off. I was comforted by the hand she offered during my first take off. I was sitting beside a “suit” and we began talking. He was very interested about our project in Guatemala and I was ecstatic to share it with him. The “suit” was an awesome person, for anytime we had turbulence, he would assure me that I had nothing to worry about. When it came to landing, he explained exactly what the plane was doing and how we must have had a great pilot, for “that was one of the smoothest landings I have ever experienced”. All this said with a wink. I remember thinking to myself, no matter where you go, people will be there to take care of you.
Our work at the orphanage was dirty, and well, absolutely spectacular. An earthquake had damaged a large fish pond. Our job was to clean whatever the heck it was that covered the bottom so that they could begin to cement all the cracks and get the fishy’s back in there so they could sell them at the local market. I was beginning to realize that our group was helping to take care of the people living in Casa. I began to really witness what it meant to take care of one another, whether that be through plane fears or through cleaning out a pond. As I realize now, this lesson was just beginning.
Everyday at lunch we made ourselves comfortable on a little dock at the front of the orphanage (we went 15 minutes by boat every morning from our hostel). Well of course the kids found us every day. Fortunately, God has taught everyone the language of ‘play’ and that’s what most of my fellow classmates did during our lunch break. However, I did not.
Every day for 5 days straight, this lil’ cute guy about 8 years old would sit right beside me. We never exchanged
any words, not even our names, but I would smile, play with his hair, rub his back, and show him any kind of love that I could. Pretty soon his head was down and he was asleep in my lap.
I remember being 17 and I could actually feel my heart breaking. I sat there, so close to tears, just praying for him. I didn’t even know his name, yet he knew I could offer him some kind of comfort, even if it was just for a short time. I had gotten used to this sort of love and comfort. Through this amazing little boy, God showed me that love and taking care of someone else, even a perfect stranger, is so easy to do. It can be a hand to hold, a hug, a reassurance in time of uncertainty, a smile…anything! I had been blessed to be taken care of through most of my trip and it was like God was saying now you try.
I came across the quote from Mother Teresa today and it reminded me of how sometimes we don’t have to do anything extraordinary. We just have to love each other. We just have to keep loving, even through the times that we are hurt or our hearts are broken. We have to keep going. God never stops loving us, so how could we do the same to anyone else in this world? God takes care of us, no matter where we are physically, emotionally, or spiritually. I know sometimes it doesn’t feel like he is taking care of us, but his plans are exposed on his own agenda, not ours. But during that time of feeling like you may have no one, love slips in. How easy it is to take this all for granted and to receive it, but not give it. I love how God has made is so that we cannot escape love. We can never push love out of our lives and say “I’m finished with this love stuff, I’ve had enough”. That will never happen, because as
1 Corinthians 13:8 tells us,
Love never fails.
