Do you ever have so many thoughts on your mind, you are unable to sleep? That is what caused me to put pen to paper (or fingers on a keyboard hehe) today. Writing is cathartic for me, cleansing if you will. Deep within I know there are thoughts and words I need to share … so grab your favorite beverage and join me for a minute, won’t you?
You see, I have been heavily burdened the past month with having to remove someone who was once a very good friend from my life. It was a decision based on what was and is right for me. Not because I believe they are a bad person, but because their behaviors are toxic to my being. There is so much to be said, but at the end of the day, I felt as though this individual was ultimately keeping me from being my best. God’s best.
One thing I have learned through the lessons in my life, is to be an example I want other people to see. Recently I was told “although I never comment on your Facebook page, I watch what you are doing very closely there, and through your blog. I am fascinated by your zeal to help humanity. But I don’t understand ‘why’ you are the way you are. Why do you feel the need to go to other countries, when there is so much need here in America?” My response was the same as I gave to those who urged me not to go to Haiti to help after the earthquake, and were upset with me that I got sick and ended up in the hospital upon my return to the states. Laying in that hospital bed with an IV in my arm because I had a kidney infection & various other issues, I remember saying “you can give me a blood transfusion, but you can not take the humanitarian out of me”.
In just a few days I am embarking on an adventure with my “adopted” niece, Amy. We are going to Johannesburg, South Africa to spend time with the orphans who stole my heart years ago, along with those who look after them. Sinethemba (http://www.sinethembahomeofhope.co.za/ ) and Mpumelelo (http://www.mpumelelochildren.co.za/) . With my trips as an individual over the years, I networked through Airline Ambassadors (http://airlineamb.org/) & Destination International (http://www.destinationintl.com/) and they now include these two orphanages in their mission trips. It is with honor I have been asked to be one of the board members and a trustee for Raise Your Hand Open Your Heart (http://www.raiseyourhand.org.za/ )~~ because it connects people with giving aid and volunteering wherever your passion may lay.
The reason for this particular writing is to encourage you to find your passion. To realize wherever those little heart strings are pulling you … to take action. Take the brokeness you may feel in your life, and put the energy towards helping someone in need. Doesn’t matter if you have money, you can still donate your time. You can volunteer at a local soup kitchen, or adopt a service member through their deployment (http://adoptahero.us/ ). Something amazing happens when you ask others to help with a cause greater than yourself … God works miracles. (thank you to those of you who have donated for this specific trip!)
Finally, I see from the outside looking in, that if I allow myself to be caught up in other peoples chaos, I am not being the right kind of instrument. The most difficult thing I have ever learned was to “let go” .. and today I realized (it is about time!) that in the “letting go” .. the greatest transformations happen. I feel like a catepillar who just busted out of the coccoon … because through the sleepless night, I not only loved the other person enough to let them go completely and fully … I just let God be God. It is in the silence that I am finding inner peace. And in that peace, I just want to spread my wings and fly.
So as Amy and I embark on an adventure of a lifetime, I am going to challenge you to remember we are all created equal. It doesn’t matter if you are from Germany, China, Africa, Asia, America, or any other country in the world. We all have red blood running through our veins (well, unless of course you are alien like my dad was .. hehehe) … and we all need to raise our hands and open our hearts to saying a kind word, holding open a door, doing things to make someone else feel validated. It is in the simple things, of this world, in simple gestures and kindness and love and hope and dreams, that we are to remember that we all are human, that we all are the same, that we all only need love. Unconditional love.
Allow yourself to be blessed, by being a blessing to others … and in doing so, remember to thank those who put themselves on the line every single day, in order to protect your freedoms.
Always,
Robin
http://alwayssupportourheroes.com/
Tags: donations, hero, heroes, humanitarian, Robin Schmidt, Sinethemba, South Africa, The Sky Angel, Travel, Wounded Warrior