Haiti - Prayer and Love and more Grace than some of us have...

AP Image: CNN International
I think that Haiti is pretty much front and center in everyone's hearts and minds today - particularly here in Florida where we have so many Haitian-American residents.

Rebekah and I are not late-comers, however, in either our awareness or our support of the beleaguered nation. Since her mission trip to help build a community center in a small town, to support ongoing medical missions, and to sponsor a sewing industry that promoted self-sufficiency, we have been involved in some way for many years.

We unhesitatingly renounce messages spewed by graceless voices such as the televangelists who use judgment as a means to promote themselves and their own narrow, sectarian, interests. God's love is far greater than their limited imaginations evidently fathom.

• You are a sad, confused man, Mr. Pat Robertson, and you do not speak for followers of the Jesus Way! God loves you so much, as he loves all of his children - regardless of where they live and the culture that surrounds them; I pray that, one day, you will embrace the wonder of that truth and break free from the chains of judgement that appear to define you.

I attended a prayer vigil for Haiti yesterday evening at a Methodist Church the other side of Tampa. I was sent to do an article for the Florida Methodist News Service - but, mostly, I was simply a participant in the service of prayer and communion.

One particular family got my attention. It was a young couple, in their 30's, with two restless children, probably around seven and ten.

So I talked with them afterward and asked them why they came. They said they were extremely busy, with lots of stuff scheduled for the evening and certainly no time to come to church...

So they thought about it, and decided that made it exactly the right time to come.

- So they could show their love and support for all people

- So they could participate in something important as a family

- So they could demonstrate to the children just how valuable it is to prioritize and not allow their life together to become overrun by... stuff.

That impressed me. It also inspired me. Would that we all evaluate and re-evaluate exactly what is worthwhile - and on a daily basis.

Love and blessings - DEREK