At Hope Haven Rwanda, we talk a lot about the power of healthy relationships, and healthy relationships are anchored in gratitude. We want to promote a culture of love and gratitude within our staff, faculty, students and the families that we serve.
“Murakoze” is the Kinyarwanda equivalent to “Thank You,” and is heard frequently around Hope Haven. The beneficiaries of our programs sense that our team loves them, that we want to listen to them and to honor them with the dignity that they deserve as image-bearers of God. Their response is often a hearty “Murakoze!”
We have even dedicated an entire “wall of gratitude” to recognize the people from around the world who have invested in our families. As people pass this wall each day, they are reminded that they are part of a bigger family, a community that extends beyond this neighborhood.
The Apostle Paul reflected on the weakness of our human bodies, and the way that God is given glory by His strength in us. He called our bodies “jars of clay.” We are grateful for our physical strength, but we must all admit that it is ever fading. Our hope is not in our physical strength, it is in something much more secure—our eternal hope!
The grace we receive from God results in gratitude that yields glory for God. Paul reminds us that “grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:15-16).
Hopefully, you will join me in saying, “Murakoze” to God first, and then to the people that He has graced our lives with—for His glory!