Last night I intended to post this morning...with a different post. And then, well, today happened. Instead of posting the original one I had planned, I decided to write a new one about what is on my heart.
Do you ever look at something in your life and suddenly see it differently? Not because any circumstance had changed, but simply because your eyes shift for a second.
That happened to me at work today. I work in a speech and language clinic so I see kids with disabilities every day. It is not unusual to have to step around a child throwing a fit on the floor or to say hi to a child without a response. "Sensory needs," "low-functioning," and "behavioral lately" are phrases not uncommon to my ears. I see kids "stimming" (another common term around my workplace) off of various things on a regular basis. The kids vary greatly in appearance, not only because of racial differences, but also because of the various "disability looks." Yet I see the children. I love those kids with all of my heart! The moments of connection with child who has autism or a random hug from a child with Down's syndrome or the giggles of delight over bubbles makes the challenging times worth it.
Yet today, after nearly a year there, my heart became saddened by disability. Not because of the children or because of some judgmental reason, but because it's not the way it should be. (PLEASE don't take this the wrong way; I am well aware that these children are blessings and important!) A nearly 2-year-old should not be without any language. Nobody should be stuck repeating a phrase just because her brain won't move past that. No child should be stuck inside their mind with no way of telling us what is going on inside. I want to know these children without the restrictions of disability. There is more in there. There is SOMEONE in there. Someone I cannot fully free. My heart breaks to know that no matter how much love and therapy I can provide, some children will never fully have the ability to use language.
These thoughts come on top of hearing about the ebola outbreak in Liberia and genocide of people in Iraq and the suicide of Robin Williams. There are also a few personal things that scream to me of the brokenness of this world.
So what does this have to do with the Road Trip?
Everything!
This bleakness forces me to remember the WHY behind this trip. The why is because God calls us to be a Light to the darkness through HIS Spirit. If there wasn't darkness there wouldn't be a need for Light. Yet as the darkness thickens around me, I realize just how much I need the One who supplies Hope and Restoration. I am SEEN, LOVED, and HEARD by the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. How can I not share that incredible news with those facing dark times?!
So this is my why.
This is why I will give up having a home for a year and become nomadic.
This is why I continue to make sacrifices.
This is why I keep believing that God will provide all that is need for this trip.
I pray that the platform I am given through this trip will be an opportunity to bring awareness to things that would otherwise be unknown and hope to those who endure.
Darkness brings the opportunity to share the Hope and Light of Christ in a way that nothing else could.
Where, in the darkness of this world and perhaps your life, have you been given the opportunity to share the Light?
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