Please welcome Melanie Fischer today – our new guest blogger.
What Happens When You Pray to be Used?
My pen was the ticket to a two week adventure in one of Nunavut’s fly-in communities. A long-time friend invited me along to her native land to document the Inuit culture for promotional material.
As I tucked a decorative scribbler into my carry-on luggage, I prayed,
“Lord, use me on this trip.”
We covered many miles across Canada to the Southern tip of Baffin Island. I covered many more miles with the end of my pen as I captured the culture and many exciting stories.
The story that earned the title “highlight of the trip” went like this:
Artists in the community bubbled with excitement as they prepared for the art sale. My stay was almost over, so I was thrilled to be able to attend. With my camera and camcorder in hand I sauntered from table to table, snapping pictures and chatting. I approached a table with a jolly Inuit lady and a man who resembled Santa.
The couple was especially friendly and generous in sharing stories. They paused to ask where I was from. “Close to Edmonton,” I stated. They gasped and explained that their son, Tommy, lived in a group-home there. Saddened that he was lonely and without family, they asked if I would stop and say hi for them.
I glanced down at my video camera, “would you like to say hi to him yourself?” I asked. They enthusiastically accepted the idea. The mom stared into the camera and delivered a message in her native tongue. I did not understand her words but I empathized with her tears.
The father then gazed at the video screen; a thick French accent buttered the phrase “I love you Tommy.” He was a man of few words, but he didn’t need them to deliver the message that he deeply missed his son. He quickly wiped away tears then nodded to indicate he was done. I closed up my camera then received contact information.
On my way home I had a one night layover in Iqaluit. As I approached the hotel front desk, a cheery young man asked me where I had come from. When I told him he laughed and said that was where he was from. “Maybe you met my mom and dad,” he chuckled.
He described his mom as a large Inuit lady and his dad…a Frenchman with a white beard. “Your brother is Tommy!” I exclaimed. He clasped his hand to his heart and spilled out “You know Tommy?” I told him how I was delivering a message from his parents to his brother.
Before I could even complete the question, “would you like to send him a message?” he stared impatiently at my camera, waiting for it to turn on.
The next day I arrived in Edmonton. A shy Inuit fellow sat across from me at our meeting place. He played the videos over and over, straining to hear every word.
You never know what will happen when you pray the prayer “Lord use me!”
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Melanie Fischer
Melanie is a writer and blogger. She has recently discovered that perhaps God has not created technology to punish us, but rather to propel His message into the world. She is passionate in sharing this newfound knowledge and equipping others to live their purpose. This has led her to recently start up the endeavor “Hungry for Purpose.” You can visit her blog and see what else she is up to on her website www.hungryforpurpose.com Melanie is a member of Inscribe Writers Fellowship.