listening
so i haven't written on here forever, and i've just been thinking about the importance of sharing the things that happen in our lives with those around us. our experiences and our stories are what make each of our lives what they are. i think i have a lot to learn from my friends and family and the world around me and those experiences and lives that are different than my own. and i hope the life that i'm leading can have the same affect and benefit for others. for that reason, especially in the job i have the privledge of doing, i've been realizing the importance of sharing those stories more with the people around me. i feel like i have the privledge of getting to see people at their strongest and weakest, at their realest, at their most broken, with the realness that life is, at their poorest and most humbled- everyone of us, humbled- rich or poor- the same. and i think that when i experience the things that stay with me, they need to be shared, for others to benefit from them as well, because i think God intended them for more than just me. that being said, i want to share a moment of this past week that has really stuck with me.
i was in mexico this last week, and i was wearing a shirt with a breast cancer ribbon on the sleeve. a man on the team came up and started talking to me about a book on fighting breast cancer that he really recommended (Don't Bet Against Me). i mentioned that i had a friend that was fighting breast cancer and wondered if he would recommend it for her. he said absolutely, and handed me $20 to go buy her the book. i said "thank you" and we headed out to dedicate the home we'd been working on.
when we got to the worksite, i had about an hour to wait while they finished up painting the house. i decided to go by and visit some families. it was really laid on my heart to go by and see this one family, the mother's name was Engracia and she had three boys (Luis, Oscar, & Miguel). i went by their house but their gate was shut and after i honked a few times no one came out. so i left and went to see another family. after talking to them, i had some time left and it was really pressed upon me to visit Engracia's house again. i thought about just hanging out with some some friends that were in the area that i work with instead, but made a conscious decision to take the time i had left to go try and see the family again instead of spending all of my extra time just chatting with the friends i work with. this time when i went back by the house, Engracia and her three boys were out playing in the yard. i asked them how they were and we talked for a bit. i asked how work was and she mentioned that neither her or her husband had a job any more. i said that i would pray for them to find work, and as i was about to leave, i remembered the $20 in my pocket. so i hand
ed the $20 to Engracia and told her to get some food for the boys. she said "thank you so much" and told me to hold on. she ran inside the house and grabbed a family picture of her and the boys and gave it to me. she said that she wanted me to have it. i thanked her and said that i would look at it and remember to pray for her and her husband to find work. then i jumped in my truck and headed back to our worksite.
as i visited that family, nothing miracoulous happened, but what i realized as i drove away, is that i didn't just happen to go by their home. it had been laid very strongly on my heart and i went by their house two separate times intentionally trying to find them. i thought about the fact that i didn't just happen to have $20 in my pocket. because of the shirt i was wearing, i got into the conversation about breast cancer, and was given the money to go buy the book. i thought about how i threw that shirt in my bag when i headed for Mexico, never knowing that a t-shirt was going to affect a family in Mexico. i thought about how I never knew what God had planned, just through the littlest things, and that if i had decided not to listen, and not to go by Engracia's house a second time, i would have had a good day, and it probably never would have crossed my mind again; but i would have never realized what God intended for that family. i would have never been blessed with being reminded how small i am and how little i see of God's big picture, and i wouldn't have been reminded to be aware of and listen to the things that get laid on my heart, whether i understaned the reason or not. i don't know how that money is going to benefit Engracia and her family, but i know that it's exactly what was supposed to happen that morning, and i know that it has already blessed me.
i was in mexico this last week, and i was wearing a shirt with a breast cancer ribbon on the sleeve. a man on the team came up and started talking to me about a book on fighting breast cancer that he really recommended (Don't Bet Against Me). i mentioned that i had a friend that was fighting breast cancer and wondered if he would recommend it for her. he said absolutely, and handed me $20 to go buy her the book. i said "thank you" and we headed out to dedicate the home we'd been working on.
when we got to the worksite, i had about an hour to wait while they finished up painting the house. i decided to go by and visit some families. it was really laid on my heart to go by and see this one family, the mother's name was Engracia and she had three boys (Luis, Oscar, & Miguel). i went by their house but their gate was shut and after i honked a few times no one came out. so i left and went to see another family. after talking to them, i had some time left and it was really pressed upon me to visit Engracia's house again. i thought about just hanging out with some some friends that were in the area that i work with instead, but made a conscious decision to take the time i had left to go try and see the family again instead of spending all of my extra time just chatting with the friends i work with. this time when i went back by the house, Engracia and her three boys were out playing in the yard. i asked them how they were and we talked for a bit. i asked how work was and she mentioned that neither her or her husband had a job any more. i said that i would pray for them to find work, and as i was about to leave, i remembered the $20 in my pocket. so i hand
ed the $20 to Engracia and told her to get some food for the boys. she said "thank you so much" and told me to hold on. she ran inside the house and grabbed a family picture of her and the boys and gave it to me. she said that she wanted me to have it. i thanked her and said that i would look at it and remember to pray for her and her husband to find work. then i jumped in my truck and headed back to our worksite.as i visited that family, nothing miracoulous happened, but what i realized as i drove away, is that i didn't just happen to go by their home. it had been laid very strongly on my heart and i went by their house two separate times intentionally trying to find them. i thought about the fact that i didn't just happen to have $20 in my pocket. because of the shirt i was wearing, i got into the conversation about breast cancer, and was given the money to go buy the book. i thought about how i threw that shirt in my bag when i headed for Mexico, never knowing that a t-shirt was going to affect a family in Mexico. i thought about how I never knew what God had planned, just through the littlest things, and that if i had decided not to listen, and not to go by Engracia's house a second time, i would have had a good day, and it probably never would have crossed my mind again; but i would have never realized what God intended for that family. i would have never been blessed with being reminded how small i am and how little i see of God's big picture, and i wouldn't have been reminded to be aware of and listen to the things that get laid on my heart, whether i understaned the reason or not. i don't know how that money is going to benefit Engracia and her family, but i know that it's exactly what was supposed to happen that morning, and i know that it has already blessed me.
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