When I was about five years old I went on a boating trip
with my friend and his family. We stopped at a gas station and my friend’s mom
went inside while his dad filled up. As we kids waited, a car pulled up beside
our van on the opposite side from the gas tank, out of view of the dad. They
opened the door, grabbed a purse and left.
I can still remember the man popping his head in and looking
around at us. I was paralyzed by fear. For the next three years or so that fear
haunted me. I would even clinch up when my mom left me in the car to return a cart to the cart-rack
after grocery shopping.
It was one experience that shook my naive heart and bruised my
perception of the world and the trust I had on others. It didn’t take much for
an injury to hit me as a child.
As I grew older, I’ve encountered others that have caused me deeper pain after
I gave them my trust. My tendency, I’ve noticed, is to run to safety nets that
I create. Vices even, that bring temporary relief. Entertainment in movies, TV
shows, games or otherwise, that numb the mind and bring distraction from real
issues.
Being on the mission field, an even more twisted thing can come about that I’ve
noticed in others. They hide behind the greater pain around them. They find
satisfaction in generosity and in charity. They ignore their own crap to focus
on the crap of others… something that’s easier to fix.
In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, this temptation couldn’t be greater. There is more
garbage on these streets than I’ve seen anywhere else around the world. There
is greater devastation here than I have ever witnessed. 230,000 people recently
died here. 1,000,000 were made homeless.
A tremor woke me up about a week ago as I was staying with a few pastors and
their families. They immediately darted outside screaming and calling for
others to follow.
I recently wrote about a man named Ramseys, who showed my team and I his large
wound. Ramseys’ hurt is huge enough for a lot of us to crouch behind. For the
best of us, though, he is an inspiration to continue on when the world brings
us pain.
