The things I carry

As I was packing earlier this week for my time in Haiti I started thinking about the things I carry with me on a trip. Here I had a week to plan, access to stores, my whole apartment; and from that I had to select only some things to bring with me. Proof only maybe that I have access too much, that I have too much. Sitting here in my hotel room in the Dominican Republic, preparing to cross the border into Haiti tomorrow I know I have what I need. Plus a few other thing. The things I carry because they remind me of home or just in case. I have a lot of things for the just in case. There are the medication for possible sickness, the granola bar for the day I miss breakfast, the two photos of my family tucked into the back of the book I am reading, and a game of UNO and yatzee. I would say in most of my trips I have hardly used my “extras” but it is always good to know that they are there.

Then I think of the people of Haiti whose homes collapsed who lost everything. What did they carry as they rushed from their homes? Did they even have the time to grab something other than just their children? When they went back what were they hoping to salvage?

If I had but a moment what would I take from my house that has irreplaceable value, knowing that everything else might be destroyed? The truth is I don’t know if I would take that moment to take anything. I think I would make sure anyone everyone was out of the house but the rest it is all replaceable, people are not. But if I could go back to a destroyed home, I would look for photos more than anything.

More important to me is not what I carry in my bag but what I carry in my heart. For me in my heart I carry the love of my family and friends, their words of encouragement and support. Those are what sustain me in the difficult moments and they are the people I want to share the joys with as well. I carry them all in my heart.

What are the things that you carry: close to your heart and in your bag?