Waves come crashing into the shore, over and over again. The power of the ocean is unrelenting. Off to the right the mountains stretch up to the clouds, some of which are hanging low enough to hug the mountaintops. The mountains seem to roll on forever, a never ending line of them. Everywhere I go I see mountains. They stand firm, sure, steady. They are unmoving. In Haiti there is a saying, “mountains upon mountains.” Once you summit one mountain you’ll find several waiting on the other side, ready for you to attempt to conqueror them. This saying is used to describe the problems that Haitians face. Once one problem is solved, many more await resolution.
Too often these obstacles prove to seem too big, too great, too overwhelming. So much so that many people have stopped seeking answers, they have stopped attempting to summit the mountains, stopped trying to fix these problems. They have become complacent, accepted their fate, decided to just be. To hear that people are just sitting and waiting; waiting for someone to come in and fix their problems for them, waiting for handouts, waiting for things to just be better is especially frustrating to those of us who belong to developed countries.
To those of us who do not face this as our personal, present reality it is easy to make rash judgements, feel a lack of empathy or have an overwhelming sense of empowerment, a certainty that we have all the right answers. We are unable to understand why “those people” are not doing more to better themselves. We feel frustration that people were not striving for more, not striving to be better. Friends, this extends far beyond the nation of Haiti. How often do we do this in our personal lives? How often do we get caught up in different issues or challenges that we face and simply roll over, accepting our fate and do nothing?
The Lord is currently growing me in this area. He is showing me that I have been avoiding Him. I have been refusing to sit with Him and process different things I have gone through that were hard for me. Last week, with the love and encouragement from my team, I was finally able to conqueror what I thought was my mountain, only to have the Lord reveal to me many other mountains He wants me to climb. When you are on the mountaintop the air is lighter, your view is clearer. That is where I am. I am standing on top of the first mountain the Lord had me climb looking down in fear. Fear because I know how dark and how deep the valley is.
While I am standing in victory over my first mountain, I am able to see that though that battle may have been won, the war is far from over. I am fighting the Lord. Fighting to stay on this mountaintop. Fighting to not be drug back through the pain that comes with the valley. The Lord is showing me more and more everyday that I am doing this in ways I did not even realize. How quick I am to forget the redeeming power of our Father’s unending love? How quick I am to forget that the Lord is more than capable of guiding me through any valley I face. So now I come to you, in honest brokenness to show you that I too have become complacent and grown afraid of the mountains. How precious is the Lord for revealing this to me? For His patience and willingness to continue to draw me to Him. To draw me back into the valley because he knows that the mountains eventually do end.
I cannot say what the fate of Haiti will be, but I am certain that the Lord is here. He is working, moving, shaping, growing. The God of the universe, the God who hand carved this gorgeous island and carefully formed each inhabitant is here. These are His people; this is His place. Amongst all of the darkness, the evil, the heaviness there is a light. A light that shines so brightly it is blinding. The Lord has called people to rise up and fight for this nation, both natives and foreigners. To fight for healing, redemption and progress. To bring Kingdom to this broken nation. The Lord is not done here yet. As I prepare to spend my last week in this country, please join me in praying for this breathtaking place. That the Lord’s will would be done, that out of ashes beauty would grow.
All my love,
Bekah
Ps: This blog post entails a VERY broad generalization of the nation of Haiti. I have not been to every part nor do I claim to be an expert in the resolve of the people living here. I am simply commenting on a certain behavior that I have noted in the town I am visiting. There are COUNTLESS Haitians rising up every day to better this beautiful nation.
