7 Life Lessons I Learned in Haiti: {Lesson 1} –Being Transparent

I am not fond of clichés.  And it sounded so cliché when people said,

“If it is God’s will for you to go to Haiti, then He will make it happen.”

Some said this in response to my declaration,

“We plan to go to Haiti but it depends on if we can raise the money.”

When I decided to make myself transparent about having the desire to go, the ball started rolling.  There is no other way I know to explain it– but have you ever mentioned to someone that you needed a book case, let’s say.  And out of no where a friend says, “I have a cousin who’s sister in law is getting rid of a book case.”  And just from telling someone, being transparent, you have yourself a free book case.  Telling people about our decision was like that.  It was as if the universe was conspiring with us.

But really, we know it was God.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Initially, I asked the gals in my prayer group to pray about it.

Soon blessings poured in from family, friends, and strangers.  And not the way I expected it.

Although we received some support through cash donations, most came through yard sale donations and other ways that God used His angels to minister to my daughter and me.

• One hot day, friends organized a stuff swap for our benefit.
• Friends on facebook, that I hadn’t seen in years, blessed us with stuff too.
• One lady at a yard sale I shopped inquired about what I was buying and our Haiti  trip ‘came up’.  She gave me $20 out of her cash box for our trip.  I was floored.
• Friends who normally couldn’t afford to help us with cash discovered they had stuff they wanted to get rid of that we could use in our sale.
• A couple of friends contacted their friends who were getting rid of stuff and thought of me.
• And ordinary buyers who came from Craig List ads would often give a bit extra when they found out about our cause.

God provided over and above what we needed.

It took making the decision,  getting our feet wet , and being transparent.

And when we did, God showed up.  He showed up in a big way through people, prayers, and provision.  I am in awe.

Imagine if I was more transparent with my life.

Imagine if you were more transparent with yours.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28

How has God shown up in your transparency?