"...Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders...Let me walk upon the water...Wherever You would call me...Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander...And my faith will be made stronger...In the presence of my Savior..."
I am crying as I write this, but I know it is the right thing to do...and as scary as it is...all I know that is about to come out...the bravery I have witnessed, and learned of, just within my family and friends the past three days has inspired me and given me great courage.
"The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition than it does today. Courage originally meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, courage is more synonymous with being heroic. Heroics is important and we certainly need heroes, but I think we've lost touch with the idea that speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we're feeling, and about our experiences (good and bad) is the definition of courage." ~ Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection (I could NOT agree more.)
So...here goes.
I need to build a tribe. Yup...you read that right...a tribe.
So, I have been reading a lot of Jeff Goins stuff the past couple of years, and he is big in this theory that we all need to be "tribe builders"...so this thought didn't just pop out of nowhere, but the purpose for my tribe quite literally POPPED. A lot of people from all backgrounds, walks of faith (and non-faith), etc., reached out to me before and after my trip to Haiti with intense curiosity, desire to help in some way, a "need to know" more, etc. I have been quite overwhelmed with the intense interest and curiosity...though that is silly since I am the EXACT same way...but there is something about Haiti that really rocks people on a deep level (whether they have been there or not).
Hmmm...
I digress.
Let me first say that I am still learning all of the ways that one can help, should help, needs to help, etc. in a country that has been devastated, but has breathtaking strength and resiliency. What I am about to propose is not an end all - be all solution. It is an idea that was formulated by my friends IV and Tonya Whitman, and I am just wondering if there is not a way to fulfill their beautiful idea in a way that unites hearts in a not-that-new-of-a-concept format.
So before I tell you their glorious idea....I am going to shoot out mine....because should there be nil-to-none interest in what I am thinking...I don't want it to diminish in any way their idea....
If there were a way to develop a tribe by pooling together our resources (big and small) to collect a one-time $6,000 that would help launch a business that could create a micro-sustainability project for a small hillside community in Haiti, allowing them to work to support themselves and send their children to school....would you want to be part of it?
Now...I know that there are plenty of people in this world who can stroke a check for the full amount, or partial, but what I am feeling in my heart is that there are a lot of people who want to tangibly open their hearts to tangibly impact a community. A tribe helping a tribe. Now there is no assurance of success. We would have to give and let go. We would have to give and trust God (or whatever your beliefs) with the outcome. Could you do that? Could I do that? These are questions that I have been struggling with myself the past week. I mean I am a results, goal-oriented person to my core. What if the lesson for us is not the gift of our money, but the gift of our trust in God to do something miraculous with our money or not (and there be a subsequent even bigger lesson in the "not" for each of us). Hmmm....
A gift of grace in that we give you this money in love...no strings...only prayers, great hope...and we give you our hearts....in Love.
Since October of last year, I have learned a terrifying amount about the walls I have built around my heart, my life...sadly, my soul. I am determined to do the work to get those walls destroyed and put aside once and for all. One of those is my trust of others with my own dreams, desires, passions, crazy ideas, spirituality....I can keep going. :)
I know this may on the surface seem like a crazy idea, but what if your $20, my $20, and 28 other people's $20 times 10 could help a village get a do-over??? Think about that. How many times have I written on this silly blog about wanting a do-over in my life as much as I knew that wasn't possible. Yet...I have wasted countless hours day-dreaming about it. Countless. Haven't you wished that for yourself at one time or another?? This is OUR collective chance to give a village, a tribe, a do-over. A $6,000 re-set button. Wow. Just WOW.
Now I am NOT going to put pictures here of the beautiful faces of children, of a beautiful mountain top village, a gorgeous landscape, or any guilt-, shame-driven crap of the sort. I want this to be a question of your heart. Because this may not be what your heart wants or needs. This may not speak to you, and I completely honor and get that. If it does...IF. It. Does...then please let me know. Shoot me an e-mail at sunshinedreams2u@gmail.com, and I will get everyone hooked up and we will make this happen...and just for the record....I have NO idea what I am doing...I am just trying to obey....and lets be honest...not my strong suit. Just sayin'. :)))
"...Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders...Let me walk upon the water...Wherever You would call me...Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander...And my faith will be made stronger...In the presence of my Savior..."
I am being led in ways I could never have imagined...and as scared as I am, okay terrified...the butterflies in my heart as I have been writing this post (and listening to this song) are better than the BEST feeling of love I have ever felt in my over-sized, romantic, tender heart. I can't get any more real than that, and the anesthesia is all out of my system so I have nothing to scapegoat on. So...who wants to go ride this rollercoaster of possibility with me?
We ARE the somebodies...and isn't that ALWAYS the lesson...
Sunshine Dreams to You ~ Today and Every Day! :)
