Meghan Trainor and I have a special connection. I’m sure she feels it too. 😉 I’m not a fan of all pop songs, but I’ve never listened to a Meghan song I didn’t like.

That being said, I’ve had the song “My Name is No” stuck in my head for a couple weeks now. Because that song is the soundtrack of my life most days. I say No. A lot.

One unfortunate part of the relationship that exists between Haiti and the rest of the world is that locals tend to look at outsiders as a link to wealth and resources. Patterns throughout Haitian history feeds into the idea that foreigners have hand-outs and money unaccessible without those foreigners.

I signed a giving contract with my organization where I commit to not giving out personal funds. It might be a bigger temptation if I had a lot of money, but I can usually tell people I don’t have that without bending the truth. That fact doesn’t stop people from asking.

So, will I buy you a new phone? No. Cord for your old phone? No. Food for the children in your neighborhood? No. Will I give you the dog I’m walking? No. Will I give you a dollar? No. Chocolate? No. Concrete blocks for your house? No. Pay to care for your aunt’s orphaned baby? No. Your mom told you to make that bracelet and bring it to church to sell to the American for $10 so you could go to school? No.

Somedays it feels dismissive to constantly say no. Somedays it wears me down to the point of exhaustion. But, my name has become no. And I can say, “You’ve gotta let it go!” But, I also understand. If the situation were reversed, I would ask too. I’d ask again too. I’d probably ask every foreigner I saw just in case.

So, it feels really good when I am able to say yes. When the requests come from within our structure and organizational capacity to meet needs, I will do what I can to make that yes happen.

But at the end of the day, I am no one’s provider. Everything I have and am is my Father’s. And He listens to each request. His answers are sometimes unclear, but his name is not No. His name is Love.

And love is the thing I can give without violating any contract. I can acknowledge, respect, and value the people around me. And God can grant me the patience and love to say no.

1 John 4:8b “God is love.”