One Hope. Above all. Through all. In all.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
So, I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
Psalm 28:7M
Humberto’s wooden shanty overlooks a mountain valley with what a realtor would call a million-dollar view. Its dirt floor is lit by a single light bulb connected to a cord linking him to his neighbor’s electricity. Outside his windowless walls are pots of healing herbs, a few pepper plants and blooming yellow flowers. Chickens keep him company, clucking with excitement to find a delicious grub, gobbling it down quickly.
Humberto stands at a simple wire fence watching a few foreigners pound nails building a neighborhood latrine for his village. Curious, thoughtful as he watches and wonders who they are.
Surrounded by natural beauty, he has no job, meagerly existing by selling a few eggs and chickens at the local market.
Assisted by kind neighbors, he lives mourning his family. His son died in a protest several years ago; a daughter in child-birth; his wife of pneumonia because they could not afford the medicine to heal her.
Though Humberto cannot read, he knows life. He knows hard work. He knows grief. He knows the goodness of a kind gesture. He knows gratitude, thankful for the friends who help each other, for a new latrine built by strangers, for this day. And for the coming rain.
His life is as hard as the soil beneath his feet, yet Humberto waits with a grateful heart and watches for glimpses of goodness. Humberto knows hope and for him, hope makes life possible.
Breathprayer:
Breathing in: Abiding Hope
Breathing out: … encourage our lives.
Reflection: What glimpses of good bring hope to you?
This reflection is written for the Online Lenten Devotion for the Southeast Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
www.seiasynod.org/lent