I had an experience yesterday that really made me think about the  perception vs value of a persons life. 

We had a wonderful Mexican lady come into our home and do some cooking for us for us over the last couple of days until we got settled and more familiar with the area and shops.

When it came time to pay her at the end of the week I saw that there were some “mark ups” 

She had added some extra charges that were not initially discussed and we did not agree on.

This immediately made me feel frustrated and like we were being taken advantage of. 

The Italian and the entrepreneur in me wanted to scream “injustice! “ from the rooftops.

Mike has a coworkers who lives in the area who has warned us that “because you’re white you’ll probably be getting charged more on a lot of things”

With this in the back of my mind, I am trying to figure out a way I can talk to her about these extra charges. She does not speak English at all and  my Spanish on Google translate does not bode well for me these days.

Feeling frustrated, I came onto the deck with her list of charges, to think for a moment on what I would say to her. I sat and took a deep breath and said 

“God what do I do with this?”

I don’t want to get taken advantage of and we are already paying her almost triple what the minimum wage is for this country and then she’s now added on “fees” that accumulate to about $30 extra for the week. 

I almost immediately heard the spirits response

“ If you were in Canada would you be questioning this price?”

Why does He always answer my question with another question?! *sigh*…immediately I was convicted. 

I had an expectation on this woman Based on what the government standard or provincial implementations told me how I should value this person. 

In that moment of frustration I was not valuing her as a women who had walked over an hour and a half to get to this job and an hour and a half home to feed her five kids.

In that moment of frustration I was not valuing her as a human but a convenience. 

I do understand the culture and the way things work in this part of the world, however the learning for me in this moment is this…

Just because a governing body has placed a standard or price on someone’s time (or life) 

[Insert anything government mandated, wage, passports, visas, ect.] does not mean that the value of who they are as a human is less than or directly attached to that wage or status. 

After this I chose to go downstairs and pay her in full  along with all of her additional requests without Making a Single comment or trying to barter, which if you know me that is huge progress! 

Yes, we are probably getting taken advantage of a little bit but in this moment I chose grace I chose to treat her with compassion and dignity. 

My prayer is for all of us to start being aware of this dehumanizing nature that can rear its ugly head at any moment, and start valuing people as human beings with heartbeats in their chest and loved ones all around instead of a convenience to suit our own agenda.

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