Maximum Blessings

It says in James “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” I have received from the Father of lights a gift specifically and masterfully wrapped. 

My team and I had a chance to visit the girls home which just opened up (this home is through ASHA mission the same mission that our ministry is based just a different branch). So we packed our bags and got ready to stay the night with the girls, loving them and providing support/fellowship for the pastor and his wife who oversee the home. I was especially excited to see the girls again and knew that I would enjoy the time with them. I was hoping that we could bless them some how by just being there showing them that they are not forgotten but that they’re loved and even delighted in. It’s funny though because I feel like I took so much more away from this excursion than I had expected. 

After we finished our dinner of rice and daal the night we arrived the clouds started to roll in. And for anyone who knows me you can only imagine my excitement. Rain storms are one of my favorite things. We have been, or maybe it’s just been me, praying for the rain to come. Just the other day I stood on our roof and sang to the Lord “Let it Rain” by Jesus Culture. It’s been hot here so a nice cool off sounded quite nice. But rain not only cools things down it refreshes everything, it makes it greener and it brings life where there was only dust before. Anyway that night the rain came. It brought with it thunder and lightning. I stood with some of the girls in awe of the storm. I got to see a part of the Lord that I had forgotten, through the lightning strikes and bolts of thunder. Something untamed, its strength and ability to cause so much change to those things below it reflected the strength and beauty of the Lord. 

The next morning I woke up to the patting of the girls feet on the floor while they ran to wash their breakfast dishes outside before the rain came again. While I laid in bed I saw the dark cloud cover that was causing the sky to be much darker than it should have been that late in the morning. Through the barred windows I watched as it began to rain again. There is just something about these rainy days that speak to me. 

Cuddling up with the girls before anyone else was awake watching the rain fall is something I’ll never forget. They yearn for someone to hold them and love them, it was an honor to be with them that morning. One of the very few Bengali phrases that I’ve picked up is ami tumake bhalobashi. I whispered this into Baby’s ear that morning (Baby is the newest addition to the girls home). She smiled up at me with her little white teeth and whispered back to me “I love you too Auntie.” This little exchange was so sweet and brought me to tears. Baby has only been with ASHA for about a week and a half. She’s been ripped from her family, friends, all of her belongings and everything that’s familiar, yet she is still open to love. 

I’ve noticed the older we get the more and more closed off to love we get. We get hurt and become too scared to love. I long to be more like Baby, open and free. Yes, she is vulnerable and might be hurt, but without the risk of being hurt where is the adventure in loving at all. We miss out on so much joy when we close ourselves off.   

By noonish that day the clouds started to clear and we were able to go outside again. The pastor needed to go to the market and decided to take me and one of my teammates along for the ride. On the way there I was admiring the green forestry and how the rain had enhanced its beauty when two monkeys popped up onto a fence. Thus far, I have not seen much wild life to speak of. Cows and dogs mainly so you can imagine my excitement when something kind of exotic popped out of the trees I almost jumped right off of our rickshaw and into the mud to get a better look. When I calmed down a bit I noticed they both had their babies with them and had began to run along the fence to keep up with us. 

Then as we weaved our way through the market I looked back at my teammate and was struck with the diversity in this place. Between us and the Indians, the food, the language, the way they shop, the animals, the way they love, the climate, the way they worship I feel like I could go on and on. It’s hard to describe but I felt the Lord speaking through the moment. He has given us diversity and creativity. That his beauty is a gift for us to appreciate and accept and enjoy. 

One thing does remain the same though. Through all of this the Lord loves us all with a love unimaginable. Like the loud booming of thunder, like a child whispering I love you, like the earth after it rains, sometimes it’s new and odd at first but when you look for it it’s always there.