Better day

I am slowly gaining more insight into the tragedy in Somalia.  I mentioned in my last post about how 26,000 children under the age of five have died from starvation.  If this isn't devastating enough, there are millions more at risk of losing their lives in this way.  Aid is being withheld and people are being trapped as any freedom to find an alternative to the hell they're living is stripped from them.

I can't even begin to imagine the horror that the people in this region are experiencing.  It quite honestly makes me feel ill thinking about it.  In the midst of celebrating the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, nonetheless, where a month of fasting is observed from sun up to sun down, tens of thousands are dying of starvation not by their choosing.

During moments like these, I feel deep sadness and despair as the intense suffering continues to sweep across the world, as evil and darkness show their faces in a very visible way.  I feel helpless, but am brought to my knees asking God to have mercy.  I grasp on to hope for a better day and sometimes that helps.  Lord have mercy.

Justice and Jesus

Often times, justice is looked at as something that the “liberals” are all about.  Women's liberation and the Civil Rights movements may come to mind.  The word is thrown around many times without a clear understanding of what that even means.  Justice involves bringing dignity and restoration by removing obstacles so that people can help themselves, living in freedom and unity.  Justice is a lifestyle.

Every day we are confronted by issues of injustice whether we recognize it or not.  Social, economic, racial and systematic injustices are prevalent in the communities we live in, the food we buy, the schools we send our kids to, etc.  These “obstacles,” once we clearly identify and choose to look at them, can feel completely overwhelming (maybe hopeless) as we begin to think about why people are homeless and living in poverty, why 29,000 children under the age of five died in Somalia, or why illiteracy is so rampant in our communities.  Equally overwhelming is the thought of how we are to respond.  So, we stand immobilized, not quite sure where to begin or which issue to tackle first.

Though I believe education around issues of injustice, advocacy, and practical life changes are pertinent in the fight for justice, I wonder if the starting point is simpler than we think. 

When I look at Jesus, I can’t help but notice how justice is a part of who He is.  The life that He lived is one of bringing restoration and giving dignity to those without.  What if our entry point wasn’t to march to end homelessness or to tutor all of the kids on our block.  What if we began by living in the way of Jesus?  To love as He did and make it a priority to care about what He cared about.  Would our response to the injustices we stumble upon each day begin to innately flow from our being?  Would our actions bring restoration and give dignity to those on the margins of society?  Let’s all try it and see what happens.

Songs

Do you ever listen to a song and it hits you somewhere deep within?  It is a song that you could listen to over and over . . . and do.

In college, a friend of mine introduced me to a song called "Until I Wake Up" by a band called Dishwalla.  This song is beautiful and the lead singer, J.R. Richards, has an amazing voice.  I can't quite put my finger on why this song never gets old for me, because when I think about it, the song is actually a little depressing.

Dishwalla's Opaline was released in 2002 and I have listened to it hundreds of times and as of just recently, I have been falling in love again with these songs.  It takes me right back to sitting in my office and listening to this album repeatedly as I worked.

Music is a really powerful thing.  If my life had a soundtrack (which it should), "Until I Wake Up" would probably be on it.  Thank you to the artists who share their amazing gifts for the rest of us to enjoy!