September 24, 2020
I am fairly good at being obedient. At least I think I am. I like to think that I follow Jesus pretty well on the path He has set before me. I love my family and friends, I run a ministry, I have a set of disciplines I use to show my devotion to my Savior; I read my Bible, pray for others, partake in communion. But, am I obedient? Not just in the easy, straightforward decisions, but in the big hairy ones? Can I follow Jesus when He decides to take me off the the comfortable path He has set me on? Good question.
Be Absolutely Obedient and I Will Bless You Absolutely - Recently, I found myself feeling out of sorts. I have experienced a lot of change....I think we all have in these crazy, uncertain times. So many questions, even things that required no thought before feel like major decisions. Should I work from home; should I send my kids to school; should I go out in public, order take out or delivery, mask or no mask? There are times when I feel like I am running on high octane gas, and there are times when I am running on fumes. Right now, I feel like my fumes are running no fumes. I think it's because of all the extra decisions. I am sick and tired of making decisions, of agonizing over choices, choices that I didn't know I needed to worry about before. Then I got to thinking, there is one choice in my life that I should not have to agonize over. My obedience to follow God absolutely wherever He leads, no matter what. Why do I even have to think about this? Why should it be so difficult?
Wouldn't life be much easier if blind obedience to Jesus was just not an option, if my obedience to God and the calling in His Word were absolute? If my answer to the Lord was just second nature. Yes. If there was no decision making, if it was just "Yes Lord." Cindy, start a ministry.... Yes. Cindy, pray the lost....Yes. Cindy, love your neighbor....Yes. Feed the hungry, house the poor, care for the orphans.....Yes, Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Lord. Absolute Obedience. I long for that. As I prayed about the idea of this I heard the Lord say, "Be absolutely obedient and I will bless you absolutely."
Earlier this summer my dear friend passed away. When I think about Donna I have so many thoughts and emotions. She was so many things to so many people. She was loving, kind, wise, funny, hardworking, patient, generous and obedient. Donna had a way of looking at the problems in this world and seeing herself in the answers. She was beautifully obedient to the calling Jesus. "Donna, open your home....Yes, Lord." "Donna, go to Haiti...Yes, Lord." "Donna, give unconditionally....Yes, Lord." Donna lived her life unconditionally obedient to God. I so want to live life like that.
In February of 2020 Fish Company took a team of 24 friends on a mission trip to Montouis and my friend Donna went along. It was her first mission trip and she was out of her mind with excitement. She was absolutely giddy with the idea of God using her to be a part of the solution to the extreme poverty in Haiti. The mere idea that God was going to use her to help others just made her happy. On our first night in Haiti after an amazing evening of worship and prayer on the beach, Donna came up to me and said "Cindy, I know that God brought me here for a specific reason, so I am going to be keeping my eyes and ears open for God's plan for me in this trip." I knew she was right, God always has a plan for someone when he says "go" I just didn't know yet what that looked like for Donna.
God was very quick in showing Donna His plan. Our orphanage in Montrouis is tucked in the middle of a little village just off the main road. Makencia and her family care for 30 sweet little babies there and we spend a good amount of time problem solving with her when we go to Haiti. On past trips along with partners we have installed wells, added bunk beds, solar lights, built walls, added filtration systems, but this trip was all about the food. On this trip we were excited to be able to plant a garden that would provide much needed nutrients for our babies, and help sustain them in times of need. We were very excited to get the garden going, but we knew that the small area we were going to use on the property for the garden was not really large enough to grow enough food for 30 people.
It was time for a plan. There was a beautiful piece of property next to our orphanage that was owned by a neighbor. His property sat in the corner of Makencia's two pieces of land. On one lot we were building a new orphanage that could house all 30 kids with a fresh well and trees, on the other lot was Makencia's home, a cooking shelter, storage building and 2 smaller buildings for housing. If we could purchase this lot and use it to extend our garden and plant more fruit trees it would radically change the lives of these orphans. The good news was that the gentleman wanted to sell us the lot, the bad news was that he wanted his money now, or he would seek buyers elsewhere.
As we held our impromptu business meeting in the middle of Makencia's orphanage discussion our options, in the midst of 24 missionaries, 30 orphans, 2 dogs, 4 goats and chickens. My head spun. I knew 3 things. 1. God wanted absolute obedience. 2. He wanted me to say "yes, we will buy the lot", and 3. I had no idea how we were going to pay for it. But God didn't ask me to have all the answers, He just told me to be obedient. I took a deep breath and agreed. "Yes, we will buy the lot." Whew, what did I just say?
The minute the words came out of my mouth I felt a presence behind me. My friend Donna was standing near me with her hand placed gently on my back. She was leaning into me listening intently to our conversation. Her eyes met mine and in that moment I knew. Donna had her answer, she was going to be the answer, she was going to be God's solution to this problem. Without a question, Donna said "I'll do it, I'll buy the property." And with her absolute obedience to God, our problem was solved.
With a verbal agreement we purchased that property in February, and while the official transaction wasn't complete until April, the previous owner allowed Makencia to start planting immediately. What we didn't know at the time was that the corona virus would cause a massive shut down in our world making food much more difficult to purchase. This garden was literally a God send. By May Makencia and the children were already harvesting things like peppers, okra and tomatoes and Moringa, and by July the fruit trees were producing papaya and bananas. The beauty of obedience is so tangible at times. For these orphans, Donna's obedience was truly life giving.
I so clearly remember the day I called Donna to tell her that I was emailing her a copy of the Deed to our property in Haiti. We both laughed and cried about the beauty of God's love. We talked about how He blesses us in allowing us to be the solution to the problems of others and we discussed our next trip to Montrouis and what that would look like, and how God might use us in other ways.
My friend Donna suddenly and unexpectedly passed away in late June and while we were all devastated by the loss, I couldn't help but think about her love; her love for Jesus and her love for other's, and how that love is revealed through her legacy. When someone passes, there are real things that live on after they go. I mean, I know that the love and time and energy that we give to people will forever live on through their lives, but we always say that when someone passes away the physical things that they have or had on earth no longer matter. I beg to disagree. That property will forever matter. Months before Donna passed she purchased a big beautiful piece of land for orphans in Haiti, that land now provides much needed food for 30 orphans and the family that cares for them. That piece of property is and forever will be a part of her legacy. Her family will forever know that their Mama, Mimi, daughter, cousin, friend made a huge difference in this world through her absolute love for Jesus and her love for others and they will know that Donna's absolute obedience caused others to be blessed absolutely.
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