Reflections on Serving - Dan

Have you ever had an elephant stand on your chest? When we arrived at the orphanage and the kids saw us, they came running with open arms. They hugged us each as if we were long lost family members that they hadn't seen in years.

As they hugged us, there was a huge rush of emotion that whaled up inside of me, it was so intense that it was hard to breathe. It felt like an elephant was standing on my chest! There was a never ending flood of love that poured out of each child. They were honestly glad to see us and excited for what the week held. Some remembered us from years past, but most were just full of so much love that they couldn't help but to let it come out.

For me, emotion is one of those things that can get in the way of proper business, financial or even family decisions. If I made all my decisions based on emotion, I would flip-flop on everything. I would do whatever felt good at the moment. So I've trained myself to take emotion out of decisions. I've taught myself to view each situation as black or white, there is a right way and a wrong way for everything.

Well things aren't so simple at the orphanage. Sometimes things aren't "right" or "wrong", they just are what they are in this fallen world and the only thing that shines through is love.

What if every time I entered a room I ran to the closest person and hugged them so tight that they felt loved?

I am reminded today, that I am loved by God, that he is the creator of love, that after all else is gone, love still stands. So my question to myself is "how can I be more like one of these children and let love come through?", regardless of my hurts and hang ups.