In November of 2013, I was one of 16 people from Central Church to go to Haiti. We were partners with Convoy of Hope. You can learn more about Convoy of Hope here, www.convoyofhope.org

So many things come to mind when I recall Haiti. The orphans. The smell. The devastation. Holding a jellyfish. Pouring cement with some Haitian workers. The fog rolling in while we were overlooking Port-Au-Prince. So many things, but those are all external. My purpose here is to bring light to the internal. You could go to Haiti and experience the country for yourself and you would not be disappointed. But God called me to write about things that are going on inside of me. So let me explain.

The Haitian people were so happy. They smiled big. Even the non-Christians seemed to smile all the time. It struck me that God loves every one of those people just as much as He loves me. Maybe with my purely American worldview, I am arrogant to think that God would somehow love me more. After all, this is a Christian nation, right? I have more money and things than those people, so am I better? NO! God made every person equal but not the same. He created me just how I am. I am created by God! Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created:” NIV. I am created by God. I mean that the CREATOR of the Universe took time to fashion me. I must be something special for such a big God to do something so small. In fact, yes, I am special. Everyone is special just because of the fact that they are created by God. And now that I have this information, I can look at my life with a godly perspective.

Because I am created by God, my specific talents and abilities are for a purpose. If I have one hammer in my tool box, I can use it for many types of jobs, but it won’t work for all of them. It has a specific use. There are jobs and tasks that I am really good at doing. The older I get, the better I am at figuring out what I am good at and what I enjoy doing. The opposite is true as well. There are some things that I don’t like doing, which is good, because I am not very good at doing them! It seems that the general pattern is this: whatever I am good at, I also enjoy doing.

So when I was in Haiti, there were some things that really filled me with a sense of joy and fulfillment. This was because I was operating in the talents and abilities that God created in me. I had none of the frustrations of trying to put a square peg into a round hole! It made sense to me. The sense of clarity that I had was awesome because God was flowing in and through me. And that is a tremendously rewarding feeling.

In conclusion,

• God created me specifically and for a specific purpose.
• He made me exactly how He wanted to make me.
• I am unique.
• When I walk in the ways that God has for me and use my talents and gifts for Him, true joy fills me up.
• That sounds remarkably like the kind of life that Jesus describes in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
• So I say, “LIVE IT!”