Things still feel trivial these days in light of the heartbreak happening in our world.
I struggle to put words on paper about anything inspiring because there are people fleeing for their lives at this. very. second. I cannot ignore the kind of suffering happening on Earth and the impact it has on my heart. We comfortably post all weekend about college football, about laying in the pool on Labor Day, taking pictures of our coffees and other picturesque scenes…and these souls a world over are fighting to stay alive, to protect their children, to get to any place of safety, while we struggle to get out of bed on a Tuesday after a long holiday weekend. I try to make sense of it all - but none of it seems to make any sense.
We watch these refugees on video, on the news, desperately fleeing to safety, and so many of the comfortable hearts in our country are unmoved. And I sit here, wondering…are we unmoved because it looks like another scene in a movie? We watch them both on screens. What is the difference in our minds between a script and reality? Is there one? Have we eliminated the difference between a movie and reality for people? Do people see so much horrifying violence that kills people in movies, that when it happens in real life it matters just as much as it does in a made-up story? Is the desensitization of our society that far-reaching?
Two journalists get killed on live television and our society has already forgotten. We hashtag about it for a day then move on with our lives. People are shot to death at a peaceful Bible study and it is now old news. We just continue on with our lives, because what is there for us to do? Last week, there was a shooting at Sacramento City College. One person was killed and a few injured while they were attending school. I would venture to say that few people know about this incident because it was not widely reported. Are shootings so common at schools, at workplaces, at churches, that they do not make the news anymore? How can that be?
Obama gave one million dollars in grants to Planned Parenthood last week, and I am even more speechless than I was the time Congress did not defund Planned Parenthood. If it came to light that people were killing thousands of puppies every day, the outrage would be monstrous beyond measure. Nighttime TV hosts would be crying at the plight of the puppies, and it would be headline news. Where am I supposed to place the anger I feel in my heart over millions' of people's unabashed desire defend abortion, to defend their "right" to make decisions that do not have any consequences? To add to this, the outrage in light of the Center for Medical Progress videos has quickly subsided. People are not sharing the horrifying videos like they did by the 4th and 5th one. There are errands to get to, friends to meet up with, bills to pay. What can we do anyway? I cannot sit Obama and Congress down and force them to see babies killed by an organization that got a one million dollar grant last week. My heart continues to break and I continue to pray and help in my small way, but is it enough?
In all my confusion, heartbreak, and anger, I know that we must look at the light that is within all of this...the light that is the people helping the refugees, the light that is people joining in community to mourn with one another, the light that is the pro-life workers, politicians, women working at pregnancy centers, and so many more who are dedicating time, energy, and effort to make a change in the midst of this brokenness. There are people doing good in the mess - people who look at the darkness and walk right toward it with their light to help, to heal, and to give. There is hope in it all, hope that is not as often reported as the tragedy is, but there is hope and mercy in the center of suffering...that hope and mercy walked 2000 years ago to help us make sense of it all.
Keep your hearts up, friends, and remember that death lost its power long ago. May we consciously rejoice in the reality of the Resurrection, knowing as the days go on that this place is not our Home.
Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.