The Universal Language That Speaks to Us All :: Heather Sabitov
Jeremiah 31:3 tells us that the Lord has loved us with an everlasting love, that ‘He has drawn us with loving-kindness.’ On our first day in Bangkok an older deaf woman approached us to sell her lottery tickets. One of our team members, Valerie, actually is an interpreter, working with the deaf so as they were communicating I couldn’t help but notice (as we all did), how desperate and hopeless she seemed; as she signed to Valerie, she was “at the end of her rope,” so to speak. I wanted to offer her some money but was unable to as we don’t support the lottery, and it weighed heavy in my heart.
What could I do for this woman to help her? I remembered (or rather, the good Lord put it on my heart) the friendship bracelets that we had to give out to the girls in the red light district as our way of showing God’s love to them, a love that money cannot buy.
As I tied it on her wrist, she started smiling and rejoicing- she seemed so happy, and she signed to Valerie that “I loved her.” Yes indeed, I do. But even more importantly, God loves her, just as He loves each and every one of us. What a wonderful way to start the trip, and a moment that I believe has forever touched and changed my life, as well as the woman I will never forget and will continue to pray for, that God will show her love and hope, as that is who He is… As happy as that inexpensive bracelet was, it brought so much joy and love to her that it had to be the most joyous reception I have ever seen from anyone I have ever given a gift to. Despite the fact that I gave her the gift, I feel like I received an even greater gift through that tender exchange because it showed me just how powerful God’s love is to everyone around the world, Christian or Buddhist, white or Asian, hearing or deaf. It is the universal language that everyone needs to hear.
