Pain. Hard to understand and make sense of it. There’s been a lot of pain among the community of Doulos this year. People that surround me and whom I live life with everyday - students, YL kids, coworkers - are hurting... deeply. There has been death, substance abuse, loved ones moving away, depression, accidents, and general sadness and heaviness for all that is whirling around us. There have been questions and conversations. As I enter into my own pain, or someone else’s pain through my love for them, I can see the Lord meeting us there. A friend shared this excerpt from a book she is reading:
"Why is heartbreak so universal? It's universal because we're feeling something as old as the world. Something God feels.... The cross is God taking on flesh and blood and saying, "Me too." This can transform our experience of heartbreak. Instead of being something that distances us from God, causing us to question, "Where are you?" every poem by a lover spurned, every song sung with an ache, every movie with a gut-wrending scene, every late-night conversation and empty box of kleenex are glimpses into the life of God."
"The more we open ourselves up, the more vulnerable we are. The more exposed we are, the more in hurts. The more we let someone in, the greater the risk."
Sex God by Rob Bell
If I have been even more absent than usual, it’s because I haven’t known how to write about life here these days... but a good friend told me to just write, because you all want to know. And you want to pray. So, friends, please pray for my precious friends down here.
The community here has become dear to my heart and one of the most precious moments came to me this past Wednesday. My women’s bible study gathered as we normally do on Wednesday nights, but this time we shared in an Ash Wednesday service together. One of the women put together a service for us to follow and the five of us reflected, sang, prayed, communed, and put ashes on each other in my living room. It was beautiful. Beautiful to remember tradition. Beautiful to be together. Beautiful to be on our knees together. Beautiful to partake in communion. Beautiful to reflect on Christ as we put ashes on each other’s foreheads. I pray Lent is a time of reflection for us all.
Life continues on here in Jarabacoa and there have been some amazing blessings and joyful moments with my classes and with Young Life these past few weeks. I hope to share those with you through pictures soon. For now, here is where I am.
