Editor’s note: Throughout July, we’re hosting 31 Days with St. Ignatius, a month-long celebration of Ignatian spirituality. In addition to the calendar of Ignatian articles found here, posts on dotMagis this month will explore the theme of “Finding God in the Unexpected.”
I was in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a delegation from Catholic Relief Services (CRS). We were there to see firsthand the life-saving work that CRS was doing in that country.
One of the communities we visited had recently been devastated by flooding. I remember sitting in a bare room—cement floors and empty walls—across from one of the survivors. There were seven of us gathered, seated on folding chairs, listening to this man share his story.
The floods came quickly; there was little time to save many personal effects. But this man had found among the wreckage of his home a bottle of home-brewed rakia, a particularly potent alcohol. He wanted us to have it as a small token of gratitude to CRS for helping the community rebuild.
“But we’re not the ones doing the rebuilding,” we said. “Please, keep your bottle.” It was one of the remaining artifacts of his old life. And to be honest, none of us
