“Shame is Heavier than a Sack of Salt.” (A Haitian Creole Proverb).

Have you ever done something that made you “ashamed?” If you have never been in this position, you cannot realize how people feel and the load they are carrying. The Haitians say, “Shame is heavier than a sack of salt.” There is a certain area in Haiti where Haitians gather raw salt. They put it in big bags and take it to the market to sell… it is sooooo heavy.

Peter, in the Bible, one of Jesus’s disciples, felt this great weight of shame, when he realized he had denied the Lord. Perhaps you, too, have felt shame in your life or known someone who has… We have a wonderful Children’s Home, here in Haiti, but we have had problems with a few children. There is always “that one,” that thinks he can do something and not get caught. Such as the child we raised from a boy, Ezekiel. He had come here with his brother. Ezekiel was always “strange,” and hard to figure out, but when he got older, he got into trouble. He stole from us, and broke our hearts. We had no more trust in him and, were afraid he would infect other children.

We found out his father was still alive so we sent him back to his father, who rejected him. From then on, he slept wherever he could. We had heard that he picked up jobs here and there, but actually lost track of him, until about a week ago. Bobby and I were walking around the property and came upon the little restaurant, that some of our boys had started. We saw a young man sitting under a tree with his face down. We, at first, thought he was a bandit. I went over to see him but he would not look at me. Someone came up said quietly, “Mom, that’s Ezekiel!”

Ezekiel!! We went over to talk to him… he had lost weight, grown-up, and was living anywhere he could find work. He finally got the courage to look into my eyes and with tears said, “Mom, it’s me. I am sorry. I was so ashamed, I could not come back for years… but finally, I took a chance. I am so sorry and so ashamed.” We welcomed him back, and will be putting him back in high school tomorrow. We will find a part job for him and give him a small salary. We will make sure he graduates, has his diploma, and finds Jesus, again. All this time, he had been carrying that “sack of salt” around on his shoulders! In a moment of forgiveness, the load disappeared.

“And he would have fain filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him; I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee; And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of they hired servants.” Luke 15:16,17

You may be in the position of “carrying that sack of salt,” around, or, you know someone who is. Let’s drop that heavy sack and let Jesus carry that load! None of us are perfect… Love and forgiveness are the best medicines for shame. Have a blessed day, Sherry