"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Swift Providence



Quiet. Quick. Rapid. Loud. Painful. Dark. Death. Still. Numb. A little over a week ago these words described the lives of my friends in Urubamba. Already those words whispered and touched the ears of the boys who reside at that home but Casa Grisoles was their one safe haven, the one chance that had at a life that was more than drugs and pain they previously knew on the streets of Peru. Hector took the boys to see the beach because there was not one of them that had ever seen the ocean before. It just happened to be the weekend of the flood that destroyed their home that the boys and Hector left for the coast. I absolutely believe it was God's absolute divine will and almighty providential hand that led them to the coast that specific weekend. If they had been in Casa Grisoles who knows how much worse things would have had been. Lives would have been lost and you cant just rebuild that. I think about what they must be going through even right now. Are they still mourning? Are they rejoicing at the lives that were saved from destruction by the sea? What little they had in the world was swept away without their even knowing. But in some senses is that not a biblical concept made tangible? Matthew 6:19-20 says

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

These boys, Hector, Maritza, they have nothing left here on Earth but i know that in heaven their rooms are filled with treasures untold. But what does this say about us? If a great flood swept into our lives taking literally every single earthly possession we own save the clothes on our backs how would we react? Would there be any Joy in the realization all turns to dust anyways? Of course there would be mourning and of course it would be horrendous but at the same time would we be able to look past what we lost to see the riches we still have? The true riches of this world can not be measured using and factor in the SI unit system. They can not be detected by taste, touch, smell, sight, or hearing. The true treasures of this world lie in the relationships we make and the memories we share with others. But here in America, here in Alabama, here at Auburn University can we accept that as truth. Easier said than done no? I want to strive towards making this realization evident in my life. I am blessed daily more than i take into count for.

In the end its about the love you've shared and people you've grown with not the car or iphone or fraternity or sorority or SGA position. Its about what you have done to share in love with others. Please keep my friends at Casa Grisoles in your prayers
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