When I signed up for the mission trip in Haiti, I was using it as a way for me to earn God’s love. I had this image in my mind that God’s love was dependent on how well I performed and what I did. I knew going on this trip would stretch my thinking and understanding, but God went above an beyond what I could have ever imagined.
The morning before one of our prayer walks, I asked the Lord to show me his love and beauty. To open my eyes to the things I usually dismissed. While on this prayer walk, a group of little school kids came running up to us with big smiles. One little boy grabbed my hand and walked with me throughout the rest of our prayer walk. We had fun playing hand games and making silly faces with each other. After a few games and attempts at communicating, he called me mama.
That’s when it hit me. This little boy didn’t need to do or give me anything to receive my love. I felt God telling me, in that moment, His love is the same way.
God’s love is unconditional. It is not dependent on how many good deeds I do or my life experiences. God loves us simply because we are his children and he created us.
This trip moved me in ways I never thought possible. It was a trip of a lifetime, and these memories will stay in my heart forever.
