Under Construction

by Tara Kasey

There are those who can look at a bag of cement and a pile of 2x4's and get excited as they think of all the possibilities that can come out of those materials. I am not one of those people. As I reflect on the journey God has taken me on so far, it seems like a mixture of these odd materials that in themselves may seem pointless, uninteresting, frustrating, but when put together are used to construct something that was once simply an idea. Often when I am confronted with that bag of cement, I am thinking about how difficult it is going to be to move, how messy it is to mix, rather than thinking about its overall purpose.

I compare my journey in life to my husband's and his seems fairly straight once he knew God's purpose for his life. Mine, in contrast, seems to zigzag here and there with job changes, broad interests - some which stay, some which go. I frequently found myself questioning God - what does He really have for my life? Why does it seem like I am not focused in one direction? I realized that it is like seeing a construction site without knowing the plans. It may seem a bit chaotic, incomplete...but God is working on building something that I could have never dreamed. My dream would be for a simple shack in comparison with His plans.

This past August when my husband convinced me to co-lead a team to Haiti, I was trying to determine my own plans. I speak some Spanish; I wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country. I also wanted to return to other countries where I have previously served on missions trips. But God had a different plan. I fell in love with the people and country of Haiti and came back wanting to go into full-time mission work. Again, God had a different plan. 

I came on board with Hope for the Children of Haiti as stateside staff following the earthquake as the demand became too great for the volunteer board. It is very easy to see the place Haiti was in before the earthquake along with the new devastation and wonder how there is even hope. But thankfully, I am not in charge. I am simply one of the workers who the Foreman has entrusted with a job. Maybe God won't rebuild the nation, I don't know. But what I do know is that His plan is far greater than I can even imagine.

Tara Kasey is the Ministry and Development Director at Hope for the Children of Haiti. When she isn't taking care of her three-year-old and soon to be five-year-old, she is taking care of 30+ teenagers in the ReaLife youth group at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Acton. She enjoys photography, almost anything active and outdoors, meeting new people and traveling.