His Hands and Feet

I wrote the first half of this poem during my Mission Trip to India this summer – July 2010. It was inspired by the extreme poverty that I witnessed there and the overwhelming sense of sadness and hopelessness that I felt for the nation’s dire situation. The second half was written when I returned to Canada and was praying to God for His Answer to the pain that I felt for the people of India.

God faithfully reminded me that His Grace is Sufficient (for ALL things) and His Power is made Perfect in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9). God loves EVERY human being, and does not want a single one to perish. We are called to spread His Love to the darkest corners of the earth. We are called to be…

His Hands and Feet

Has our God turned His back upon this place?
Does He withhold His Mercy and His Grace?
Does He not hear their prayers or see their pain?
Does He not care that their tears fall like rain?

It breaks my heart to see a need that cannot be fulfilled,
It hurts my soul that children’s dreams are slowly being killed,
A hopelessness pervades the air and suffocates my breath,
I cannot bear the destruction, I can’t escape the death,

It fills the streets like a thick fog, a blanket of disease,
A desperation calls my name and brings me to my knees,
I cry to God, ‘Why am I here? What did you bring me for?
I cannot clothe the hungry! I cannot feed the poor!

What difference can one girl make in this lost and lonely land?
Can one life really change the world when guided by Your Hand?”
I close my eyes and hold my breath and wait upon the Lamb,
And then a still, small voice whispers, “My precious child, I AM.

I AM Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord that will Provide,
The Alpha and Omega, I’ve never left their side,
I AM the Lord Almighty, their Faithful El Shaddai,
I hear my children suffering; I see every tear they cry,

I AM Abba their Daddy, a Strong Tower for the weak,
I AM the King of Kings, and the Redemption that they seek,
The Author of Salvation, the Beginning and the End,
Their Protector, their Redeemer, their Creator and their Friend,

And you my precious daughter have a calling, don’t you see?
What you do for the least of these, so you do unto Me,
As you love others in My Name, I’m working out My Plan,
You will be My Hands and Feet, you will show them who I AM.”

To Pee or Not To Pee?

That is the dilemma I struggled with for five long hours while I tried in vain to distract myself from the rapidly growing urge to use the washroom.

Let me put it into context for you: my first time in India, 50 degrees Celsius, 99% humidity, at a children’s orphanage, no flushable toilets within 20 km. Instead, there was what the missionaries have lovingly coined the “Squatty Potty”; a glorified hole in the ground.

Call me a princess if you will but I had never in my life urinated into a hole and I hadn’t planned on starting any time soon. So, I crossed my legs tightly and debated whether or not the perils of this makeshift washroom were worth the distinct possibility of my bladder actually bursting.

…Let it suffice to say my bladder is still in tact.

To Tissue Paper and Hand Sanitizer,
Tasha xo

~ Have you ever experienced anything awkward or totally outside of your comfort zone while traveling in a foreign country? Do tell! ~

The Gift of Hope

This past summer I was extremely fortunate and blessed to have been given the opportunity to travel to Chennai, India with a team of 11 other people from my church. We spent two weeks working at an orphanage and at various children’s schools in and around the city. Our main purpose was to spread God’s Love to the children we encountered and show them how much their Daddy Delights in them!

To say that the experience was incredibly humbling and inspiring would be a definite understatement. For one, I had never before witnessed such heart-wrenching poverty or desperation. But what impacted my soul on an even deeper level was not the intense need I saw. It was the undeniable joy that radiated from the eyes of the children I met; children who couldn’t possibly have anything to be joyful about. Or could they? What struck me to the core was that these precious children understood a profound truth, one that many people die without ever realizing.

Their joy wasn’t dependent upon their circumstances.

For these children, it wasn’t prosperity, popularity, power or possessions that sustained them. Their hope didn’t stem from how smart they were, how pretty they looked or how many meals they ate each day. They found their Hope, Sustenance and Joy in the Lord! And nothing; no flood, drought, famine or disease could EVER take that away from them!

It was my honour to serve those children and be God’s instrument to show them a tiny smidgen of the Unconditional, Unsurpassable Love He has for them. It’s quite ironic to realize that the very children I went overseas to help were the ones that ended up doing more for me than I could ever do for them. Sure, I brought them new clothes and danced and sang with them (and all of it was meaningful and treasured, don’t get me wrong!) But, they gave me a gift that far surpassed anything the world could ever offer. They gave me the gift of Hope… The Hope in a child’s eyes.

May you be encouraged, that no matter how desperate your situation may seem, God’s LOVE for you is far Greater than the worst of your circumstances. The Joy of the Lord is your Strength and your Salvation; when you put your hope in Him, He will never fail you. I pray that the Love, Joy and Hope of the Lord would fill your hearts to overflowing and that you would never doubt how much you are cherished and loved by your Heavenly Father!

In His Love.
Tasha xo