I've come back to the song, "Great Are You Lord" a dozen times in my mind, a song I heard for the first time this summer at Seeds of Greatness. While I can't find a version I like anywhere near as much as I did when their choir just radiated it, the simple chorus has been so profound this week.
It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise.
It's truly that simple, isn't it.
Today? It's His.
Our home, it's His. Our children, they're His. Our days, our time, our work, our rights. His.
Not even the very breath in our lungs is there today by ANY effort or merit or right of our own.
It's His breath in our lungs today.
So there is no room for worry, no room for fear. No room for rights or arguments or anything else. It's His breath...so we'll pour out our praise.
Thinking of these breaths, my comings and goings, my waking up and lying down as all HIS sure changes how we use them...and makes it a lot more natural to pour out His praise.
Haiti does that well.
We warned everyone we saw last week about the coming storm and the potential danger it carried, and I promise you that every single Haitian brother and sister we spoke to politely listened, assured us they would gather some extra water and food if they could, and then concluded with some version of this : "God's been incredibly gracious to us in the past, and we know that we will see His grace through this storm. God knows. So, have a good weekend!"
This kind of response frustrates the North American in us, doesn't it. "People just aren't preparing like they should," I kept hearing, wondering with Haiti what exactly more everyone was SUPPOSED to be doing. "People aren't taking this seriously. If they knew what was going to happen like we know, they'd be doing a lot more to get ready."
You know who people in Haiti take seriously? He who ACTUALLY knows. Even those who don't love Him, don't follow Him, take God seriously. They will listen to the weather man on my phone if I would like, but they are most concerned with the Lord, and they are the FIRST to point out that God. Has. Been. Faithful. And. Will. Be.
When you canNOT evacuate...when you canNOT stock up...when you canNOT reinforce...when you canNOT run, when you canNOT fix it for yourself, you know what you do?
You live in a rich place of truly trusting the Lord.
Who are the poor, friends. Who are the poor?
Look around.
If my life looked like many around me, if I didn't have any idea where tomorrow's food was going to come from, if I knew my stick house could stand up to NO storm, if I were still trying to figure out how in the world I was gonna get my kids in school on Monday..would I, Stacey, be quick to spread out my hands and testify "Can't you see? God's been incredibly gracious to us, so I know He'll be faithful in the future!"
???????????
Our brothers and sisters here in Haiti, it's His breath and their lungs, and so they'll pour out his praise.
And so they do.
They teach me again and again and again, for the wisdom of this world is nothing compared to Him, the fear of the Lord the beginning of true wisdom, and again they have proven it by fearing not my phone's predictions, fearing not the storms and catastrophes, fearing not the future unknowns, fearing not the much and many out of their hands, but trusting in Him to BE, as He has always been.
Today I bobbed in the mighty ocean with three blondes and sat my butt on a chair and thought about all this. This girlie was drooling down my neck and and I was cherishing what will one day too-soon be the last time she falls asleep on mommy. So thankful the sweet breath in her lungs is His, too...I am far too ill-equipped to be the source for these precious little girls.
My favorite almond tree didn't fair Irma as well as the rest of us, nor did much of the beach. Jean Bernard was just happy Cormier has survived yet another storm.
These are the manna packs we were so grateful to receive...half have gone out through staff and students, and the other half awaiting their day of great need.
In the middle of the day, Sofie led Nora down the hall, deeming her "Hurricane Baby", a job Nora was taking very seriously, too seriously to smile (though not seriously enough to wear pants.) These days and nights of prayer for the girls are just another tropical storm in their lives, extra time for making cinnamon rolls, happy to have mom and dad home, and lots of puddles to play with the neighbors in.
They have never caught snowflakes on their tongues or rolled in the snow, but they know rainy days.
We had two additional visitors unable to come Thursday, and one professor to have left tomorrow... all travel is currently off, so tomorrow we are all off to church, where Matt will be preaching alongside our dear friend Rodrigue from our first graduating class. I'm looking forward to praising the Lord together for the miracles of calm weather we've experienced these last days in Haiti, and to be praying together for the many picking up a lot of broken tonight and still more afraid for the days to come.
Looking forward to pouring out our praise and prayers, His breath in our lungs, God with us.
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