”The stars we are given. The constellations we make” – from Storming the Gates of Paradise, by Rebecca Solnit

The Southern Cross

I’ve never read Storming the Gates of Paradise and I know nothing about its author, Rebecca Solnit. But, I do like this quote that I found in a copy of a Guideposts magazine I was reading. I’m sure everyone could have their own interpretation. Here’s mine.

• We’re given certain gifts to work with, but it’s up to us what we make of them. We have been given the gift of life and a certain number of days that rush by all too quickly. Before we know it, we’re pushing 50, 60, 70…. and we wake up one day wondering where in the world our life has gone. How did we spend it?
• We’re given talents to be used to the best of our abilities. My mother lost her arm when she was 5 years old. She had always longed to play the piano. Though finances were very strained in our home, she somehow managed to buy an upright piano and pay for my sister and me to take lessons. That gift I learned at the age of 7 is still being used in our music ministry today. The gift she couldn’t employ was the gift she gave me.
• We’re given a standard of living. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Being a missionary in Haiti reminds me every day of how blessed I was to be born in the United States, to have received a college education, and to have my basic needs provided for. These things are considered luxuries here. I have never gone hungry (except when I was on a fast.) Yet, this is a way of life for many Haitians.

I love to go up on our roof at night and gaze at the black canopy of stars that sparkle like diamonds as they stretch across the heavens. Even the stars seem to know their purpose in coming together to create a pattern of beauty for us to enjoy. The Big Dipper. The Little Dipper. The Milky Way. United, they create something much more magnificent than they ever could alone. The Southern Cross is my favorite.

Sometimes the needs of Haiti and the pressure it puts on our ministry can be staggering, especially when the resources to help are limited. We need others to join our constellation so that we can create a magnificent pattern of His grace in this part of the Lord’s vineyard. If you are not sowing into Rehoboth Ministries, would you sign up and become a partner? If you’re already a partner, would you encourage others to start sowing into this work? We can do great things together and shine with his brilliance! You can feed children, provide medicine for the sick, help support a struggling school in the countryside, support a student from our Bible institute, build buildings, help provide a new vehicle for our ministry……the list is endless. Come join our constellation. Go to thelordstable.org and give online. It can’t get any easier!

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