The most humbling moment in Haiti was by far getting my dirty
laundry hand-washed by the teen girls at the orphanage. We were definitely spoiled in terms of having
free laundry service whenever we needed.. despite this blessing, for me it was
a difficult pill to swallow. As someone
who has enough trouble asking for help or favors, I dreaded bringing my bag of
laundry over to the women. It was
extremely hard to stand around watching them pretty much scrub the crap
(literally and figuratively) out of my clothes.
The language barrier didn’t help, because when I gestured and pointed to
myself, saying “I can do it”, they nodded and emptied my bag into the bins,
thinking I meant “do mine too.” I had no
choice but to watch, and be nearly brought to tears (at least the first time),
as these women spent the next hour and much of their physical strength doing my
laundry with no questions asked, even offering me a chair to sit down while
they often crouched. It was one of those
times where I had to suck it up and learn to be blessed.
wants to wash us clean, despite the fact that we are nothing but dirty
rags. He takes our insides, sorts out
the mess and filth, wrings us out, and puts us back together. It also reminded me of being poor in spirit, realizing
that there is no difference between me and the ladies doing my laundry – we
have nothing without Him.
