When you travel on a mission trip, your itinerary is usually planned out by the group leader. However, a good leader will tell you that the key for any trip is to be flexible. Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned them and you need to be prepared to adjust. There are times when God is telling you to stop and just sit quietly. Ashlee had that moment on her recent trip to Haiti.
There was one little boy around three years old. I never knew his name and I’m not sure how we got connected. But as I sat down on the bench he crawled into my lap and I held him close. This little boy was clinging to me, not annoyingly and not begging for attention, but like he just needed me to hold him.
After holding him for a while, I would set him down to rest my arms and he would look up at me with desperate eyes like he needed more love and to be held longer. He never once said a word or made a noise. He just needed to rest in my arms.
His shirt had ridden up his back and, as I went to pull it down, I noticed there were scars that looked like holes in his body. I have no clue if they were from sickness or the harsh environment he was in, but either way I wanted nothing more than for him to be healed. Who knows what type of home life he would return to? He obviously was not getting what he needed there, because for a whole hour he wanted nothing more than to be held by me.
I have never felt like anyone needed me. In those precious moments with that boy, though, I knew that I was needed, not only by him but by others. I think that was the Lord tugging on my heart, calling me to be greater than myself and to never stop serving others. It opened my eyes to a reality that I would have never known, and it opened my heart to a new passion and person.”
I do not know what happened to that little boy, but I do know that for a brief moment he had peace. In those moments he stepped away from his despair, and the pain from the world around him ceased and it was quiet. He looked up, saw loving arms, and crawled into them. His eyes met someone who would love him just right where he was.
Do you ever have times when you feel life has emptied you and you have hit rock bottom? Have you felt that despair has gripped you and you cannot move? Look up! God is there, quietly waiting for you to crawl into His lap where He will wrap His arms lovingly around you. He is ready to give you peace from the troubles of your world.
Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
Melinda Staples | Project Manager