I spent a while with Bunny's principal on the phone today and was caught up on the plans they have for her, as she has nearly completed 2 full years of high school since arriving there March 18,2020. While they will be supplementing her coursework with certification programs (potentially EMT and a full Microsoft Office certification) the majority of her time will be spent being a one-on-one tutor for the other girls. All of the teachers have spoken of her aptitude for teaching others and they need all the help they can get. With COVID, none of the normal volunteers can be present. The girls lost all enrichment programs beyond what the full time teachers can do. Bunny has become part of their enrichment team...
Bunny also told me last night how blown away the girls are by the gift of the quilts. The idea that strangers would invest time and money into them is beyond what they could ask or imagine. They would have never considered receiving a gift this year....they may not have received many gifts on the outside either...
Words cannot express how much I miss B. There is a dull ache in my chest EVERY. DAMN. DAY. I wrestle with trying to be very present with my boys and be in this moment with the people I love while simultaneously wanting to cocoon myself beneath the blankets until she can return. And yet...
We will never know the impact of Bunny being in DOC - between her direct contact with the other girls, the expansion of their library through our donations, the gift of the quilts, the help she brings academically to others when no other volunteers can be there, the prayers offered for her, the girls, the staff....
The Bible paints a beautiful picture of Ester being "born for that moment" so that her beauty could save the Jewish people through her influence on a foreign king. Ruth's love for Naomi culminated with a marriage to Boaz that started the Messianic line. Rahab was at just the right place at just the right time to facilitate the entry of all the Jewish people into the promise land. Generations upon generations of women using the moment they had to make a difference for others. Often in the face of hardship. Often despite undesirable circumstances.
We American's prize our wealth and land. We call it wisdom to work hard and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to try to make life just a little bit better for the next generation - our legacy... but these women of the Old Testament were nomads and wanderers - none of those women had security in their land - they were all in exile at some point. None of those women had security in wealth. Those women, poor - damaged - strangers - foreigners - impure - outside the faith....a woman in a harem - a prostitute - a foreign widow who offered her body up for some grain to feed her mother-in-law...these women made a difference in their time and place by showing love.
If Bunny was home - we would be loving on her. We would be trying to provide for her the best we could out of our hard-earned wealth and property. And that wouldn't be wrong. But it also isn't enough. Most of the people who are in the greatest need for love won't be showing up in my regular circles. They're in prison...in the poor parts of town...in shelters...working undesirable jobs...making tough choices on how to feed their families...
I don't know how we will keep showing love to the girls of LaPorte once Bunny is home - but I know we are already brainstorming about it - David and Bunny and I - because some of the greatest opportunities to love aren't going to be found in bright and shiny places. If we are going to be light, we need to be willing to enter the darkness.
Bunny is shining brightly there now....but it's up to us to keep it going....
