There is too much pain
I cannot understand
I cannot pray
I cannot pray for all the little ones with bellies bloated by starvation in India;
for all the angry Africans striving to be separate in a world struggling for wholeness;
for all the young Chinese men and women taught that hatred and killing are good and compassion evil;
or even all the frightened people in my own city looking for truth in pot or aid.
Here I am
and the ugly man with beery breath beside me reminds me that it is not my prayers that waken your concern, my Lord;
my prayers, my intercessions are not to ask for your love
for all your lost and lonely ones,
your sick and sinning souls,
but mine, my love, my acceptance of your love.
Your love for the woman sticking her umbrella and her expensive
parcels into my ribs and snarling, " Why don't you watch
where you're going? "
Your love for the long-haired, gum-chewing boy who shoves the old lady aside to grab a seat,
Your love for me, too, too tired to look with love,
too tired to look at Love, at you, in every person on the bus.
Expand my love, Lord, so I can help to bear the pain,
help your love move my love into the tired prostitute with false eyelashes and bunioned feet,
the corrupt policeman with his hand open for graft,
the addict, the derelict, the woman in the mink coat and discontented mouth,
the high school girl with heavy books and frightened eyes.
Help me through these scandalous particulars
to understand
your love.
Help me to pray.
- Madeleine L'Engle
The world we live in is broken.
Totally, utterly and inconceivably shattered.
Blown to bits by the wars and the hatred and the selfishness and the darkness that is within the hearts of human beings.
And it is so easy to turn against each other in times like these. To turn against the mothers and the fathers and the doctors and the lawyers and everyone who has ever contributed to the brokenness. We want to call down fires of judgement and righteous wrath, but let's stop for a moment and think.
Are we really fighting against powers of flesh and blood? Are we really fighting against human hearts and minds in the midst of their own devices? Are we really fighting against people who, in their own brokenness and confusion and fear, have given allowance to an evil far greater than they may even understand?
I have sounded like a broken record for the last month as I've stood on my soap box and preached the guilt of complacency. Because I've looked into the eyes of malnourished, premature, drug-addicted babies and asked God how any mother or father could allow their own child to go through such pain. But I've also looked into the eyes of confused, devastated and isolated young mothers who feel like there is no way out and I know that God feels the same love and sympathy towards them that he has shown to me over and over and over again.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
- Ephesians 6:10-12
Morgan Weistling I The Promise
Hark! ’tis the Shepherd’s voice I hear,
Out in the desert dark and drear,
Calling the lambs who’ve gone astray,
Far from the Shepherd’s fold away.
Bring them in, bring them in,
Bring them in from the fields of sin;
Bring them in, bring them in,
Bring the little ones to Jesus.
Who’ll go and help this Shepherd kind,
Help Him the little lambs ones to find?
Who’ll bring the lost ones to the fold,
Where they’ll be sheltered from the cold?
Bring them in, bring them in,
Bring them in from the fields of sin;
Bring them in, bring them in,
Bring the little ones to Jesus.
Out in the desert hear their cry,
Out on the mountain, wild and high;
Hark! ’tis the Master, speaks to thee,
“Go, find My lambs where’er they be."
Bring them in, bring them in,
Bring them in from the fields of sin;
Bring them in, bring them in,
Bring the little ones to Jesus.
I like to talk big game about how it is every Christian's commission to care for the fatherless, and to a lot of people this means adoption or foster care, but I am aware that this is impossible. Each of us are living crazy, messed up lives in a crazy, messed up world, and a lot of us aren't able to or willing to drag a small human being into the middle of ours. And a lot of people feel overwhelmed - there are too many kids and the systems in our country are too broken and the numbers just keep getting higher and higher and the commitments keep getting bigger and bigger.
I met with a friend a while ago to talk about what we can do to actually make a dent in issues of abortion rates and corruption in the adoption process. We came to the conclusion that one of the first things we need to do in our community is to step back, make some basic to-do lists, and break the problems down into bite-sized pieces. There are too many problems in the world to try and tackle a "solution" that will fix them all. But small is where God works.
A meal. A box of diapers. A baby shower. A closed adoption. A temporary place to stay. A prayer. An offer to help out while a mom is trying to get back on her feet. Simply taking a mom out for coffee and having a conversation about her future.
These are things that need to be done. These are things that very few people are doing. Not huge things, and certainly not be-all-end-all solutions, but necessary and influential just the same. We have all become too caught up in our own lives, that very rarely do we spare a moment for the life of someone else. Are these things inconvenient? Are they difficult? Are they going to take time and thought and planning and prayer? For sure. But are they worth it? Absolutely!
The 2021 March for Life took place yesterday, and many of my friends were standing on the street corners of my small town protesting the genocide that is sweeping our country today. As Christians we should be so full of hope and light, calling upon the name of the Lord as our protector and our shield. We should be front line warriors against the darkness that has overtaken the world around us. We should be on our knees every day, asking for the words to say and the courage to act. God has not left us here to be comfortable or to be bystanders.
Today is the day that could change everything.
This moment is the one that matters.
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
- Psalm 121:1-8
Friends, continue constant in work and in prayer.
May the Lord be with you all.