Blessings
What comes to mind when you think of blessings? Often we think of fulfilled prayers, prosperity or success in a job or a relationship. The term blessing is clearly stated to be a favor or gift bestowed by God. Genesis 12:2 declares, “I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” This verse calls us to “be a blessing.” We often see blessings as something that comes to us. Has God called us to be the one doing the blessing? Is it possible that a blessing could come in a hardship or a loss? I recall a time during a mission trip to Haiti when God had called my daughter and I to “be a blessing” to a group of 22 orphaned children and the missionary family that serves them. During our time with these children, we learned of their experience when the massive earthquake of 2008 hit Port Au Prince. Two years later, the children were still sleeping in tents outside because they were too fearful to return to the house, in fear of the walls collapsing in the middle of the night. Needless to say, we were touched by their stories. The struggles we saw to maintain an existence in a broken down country gave us a new perspective on our own lives. Haiti is statistically listed as having the highest rate of poverty for any country in the world. The average life expectancy is 46, due to the high rate of disease, poverty and malnutrition. The blessing came to us, as we witnessed a spirit of hope and determination to overcome these odds. There was a commitment from the missionary parents to support, encourage and train up these orphans in the ways of the Lord. The blessing in their efforts will come as these children mature into adults that can shine a light into a country of despair. Our mission trip to bless a group of children in need, left us blessed with these experiences and a deeper understanding of how to “love one another,” and how God uses perilous circumstances to bring about blessings. We went to Haiti to “be a blessing” and to our surprise blessings came to us through the eyes and hearts of orphaned children that God was healing and growing nearer to Him.