Lover Of People

(Mackenson is on the right)

As I was packing up my things and moving out of my dorm I found a homemade bracelet. Some might say that a misplaced bracelet is not that big of a deal, but this bracelet was. This bracelet was a bracelet that I had made summer after my sophomore year in high school. I made the bracelet on my first trip to Haiti with a boy named Mackenson. Mackenson was a boy that was part of an orphanage, and had survived the devastating earthquake. I met Mackenson on the last day of our trip, and he stuck with me over the following year. The next summer I went to Haiti again and we served at the same orphanage. The first day we were welcomed with a song by the adorable kids and when they were finished the little kids ran and latched on to a member of our team. I was not one of the people that had a super cute kid running to greet them, but that was okay with me. I had been anticipating seeing Mackenson again and I was on the search to find him! I found him on the top floor of the boy’s orphanage playing “football” (soccer) and said, “Hey what’s up dude!” He looked at me for a second kind of funny, then his eyes lit up and he said, “Hey I remember you!” in the sweetest broken English possible. We continued to hangout the rest of the week, which is something I will never forget. I went on two mission trips and Mackenson made an impact on my life that he will never understand. I haven’t seen or been able to contact Mackenson since that trip, but I pray and think of him all of the time. I was so happy to find my bracelet because it was my reminder that this world is bigger than just me. God has a big world full of wonderful children that he loves unconditionally. Lately I have looked back on all the people I have met my freshman year. Jesus calls us to show love to everyone. (Leviticus 19:18) Sometimes I fail at that. I let pettiness get in the way of loving people. But no Christian is perfect and this is why we have Christ to grow and mold ourselves to be more like Him. Because of this, I have started to be real with myself and make goals to become a better lover of people.

 

"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves." -- William Arthur Ward

The Proverbs 31 Woman

          As I get older I am tested more and more. I am actually tested in school, I am tested in my faith, and I am tested to see how well I can navigate through life. I hate being tested in school, but I mean who actually likes that. I have been tested in my faith time and time again, but after reading scripture and having quiet time with God I pretty much figure out how to deal with the situation. But when I am tested with life I turn to my mom. My mother is timeless, she is classy. She is everything I strive in life to be so why would I not call her?

When I was in high school I never truly appreciated my mom and the decisions that she made, or even why she made them. For example, she has been offered promotions in the past that she didn’t take. Why? The answer is me. Because I heard the phone call, heard Pennsylvania, and had a huge meltdown. Like huge crying, she had to sit and calm me down, meltdown. My mom has sacrificed her career for my happiness. She is selfless, and that is something I work hard to imitate every day. (It is a hard battle.)

          Not only is my mom selfless, but she taught me the importance of a hug at the end of a hard day. My mom has had countless hard days, which usually results in me wanting to have a stern talking to someone. Because she is a strong woman, if you have made her feel anything less than extraordinary you are wrong, and you should know it. But as I said mom showed me the importance of a hug. I honestly believe that a hug could cure a deadly disease if it was a good enough one.

          My mom is timeless. I see pictures of her from her younger days, and her style and appearance hasn’t aged a day. Granted her hair has gotten smaller over the years, but that is just because I always messed it up as a child, I am sure. My mother is the spitting image of a Proverbs 31 woman, and I couldn’t be more proud to call her my momma.