My students tell me I'm a perfect candidate for FML.com (If you don't know what that is, don't look it up). They seem to think I have the worst luck, starting off with the several unsuccessful knee surgeries of the past year. Last Saturday another great event happened to add to my story and their entertainment. I came home to find that a pipe in my upstairs bathroom froze and then burst, filling up the area between the two floors until the first floor ceiling came crashing down, bringing with it enough water to flood the entire area. I called my insurance, and within hours there was a crew there ripping up all of my floors, tearing down the remaining ceiling, and filling the house with drying equipment. Great. Time to move back in with my parents.
Each day since then I have returned to see that crews have deemed it necessary to remove more and more of the inner structure of my house in order to stop the spread of moisture and ultimately mold. I haven't seen destruction like this since I worked with a demo crew after Katrina, and this is just from one measly pipe! As many of you know, I've been planning to put my house on the market very soon and use my earnings to move to Haiti and drill clean water wells. Tuesday night brought devastating news of an earthquake, and I realized that many of the people I hoped to be with would possibly not be around. The sadness I was experiencing as a result of be inconvenienced by a temporarily unlivable house was quickly replaced by shame as I realized I still had everything, and that I my temporary losses were nothing compared to those that I will soon be joining.
Yesterday morning I received a call from my insurance agent saying that they wanted to put me up in a hotel, and when I arrived I realized I was about to stay in the nicest place ever, and that I wouldn't pay a dime. I watched the Haitian tragedy on the nice flat screen tv until about 2am, trying to sleep but mostly feeling guilt for being born so fortunate and helpless for not being able to be of immediate aid to these people. This morning at school one of my rowdier students told me she wanted to make me proud, and when she went to cash her check at the bank (I'm pretty sure she works as much as I do, but after attending a full day of high school) she donated $200 to the people of Haiti.
I try to end most of my posts with some statement that pulls it all together, a nice closing statement. Well, I don't have one here. In the past few days my point of view has changed many times, and as I process these events, I'm sure I'll end up being pushed to yet another place of discovery and awe. I still have much to learn about this life.
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4 comments:
Great post Jason! I've had a lot of similar thoughts lately. You've expressed something that God is continuing to teach me.
I broke/fractured my ankle and lower leg on December 23, the night before I was scheduled to fly home for 3 weeks with my family in OKC. I spent most of the holidays in the hospital here in the Middle East and now I'm off my feet for the next several weeks. I've been trying to be positive but to be honest, I've had my moments of self pity. But God has used several things recently to remind me of how incredibly blessed I am. And now with Haiti, I can only imagine the pain of the people there. Our challenges seem so small and trivial in comparison. It so easily to lose focus of the many ways God has blessed us.
Anyway, appreciate your words and your spirit! God bless you my friend. Praying for those in Haiti! philip
Ok, you made me weep.
I think Katrina was just practice for this one friend.
I talked to Jon last night and we think that one of the ways we want to participate in helping Haiti (besides going) is to GET YOU THERE.
I am praying with you and know that God is (still :) preparing you for something beautiful.
Do not be discouraged. You are amazingly loyal, devoted and stubborn. Perfect for what God has for you to do.
I can't wait to watch it happen.
I appreciate the content of what you are talking about but what stuck out to me is what you said about your student. It's pretty incredible that you have made such an impact on her that she not only wanted to make you proud but she knew that what what would make you proud was to Give. Honestly J, I'm not sure how much weight you give it but that is HUGE! Your influence has made a difference, not only in her life but to those very people you want to know and serve in Haiti. So for that, well done.
You're an inspiration.
Sorry about the busted pipe and mess! Hang in there!
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