First off, way to go guys!
The last six weeks have been tough for a great many of us. For some, it's been a lot harder than others. When I see the grace that people have shown, the love that people have shown, it makes me happy, plain happy.
Sometimes what I see after the initial miracle in human behavior is the backslide. Like Peter on the water, we begin to doubt what just happened, what is happening, and we begin to sink.
I know there have been recent moments that have caused some hearts to sink. Conversations, cutting words, and irresponsible speculation have begun to creep back into my head, and the heads of others. And at the same time, I still see an outpouring of grace from our community that continues to astound me. What worries me more than anything is our forgetting altogether.
I am not speaking only of the crisis within our church community, but of one outside.
Many of us have also made a promise to a group of kids in Uganda. We silently promised that we would not let their cries go unheard, that we would be praying for them, and speaking on their behalf. I confess that in my time of confusion, I let them fall out of the forefront of my mind. For some of us, it may be time to bring them back to a place of prominence in our hearts. Next Monday and Tuesday mark the Uganda Lobby Day, where Americans have the opportunity to make a concerted effort to get their desires for the people of Uganda heard by their representatives. Uganda Lobby Day comes at an amazing time this year. Election Day is just a month away. Write the candidates that are running. Tell them continuing and furthering peace in Uganda is a priority for you—a priority you will vote on.
This is not a partisan issue. Both Republicans and Democrats have done some very admirable things to further the cause, so check out candidates on either side of the aisle.
Most importantly keep thinking, keep talking, keep calling, keep writing and keep praying for God’s beloved in Uganda.
I will too.
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4 comments:
this is a good word, kevin. thank you for reminding us. there's a reason for the verse, "do not grow weary in doing good"-- we tend to forget, get overwhelmed, get tired... it's so important that we spur each other on to good works. thank you for being the reminder! i'll write my candidates later today--
sam
Seriously, this little post started with a journal entry that I was writing to express my frustration with my own struglle to reamain active with the invisible children efforts.
I certainly hope it doesn't come off like a sermon. I just thought other people might benefit from the reminder.
But I want to make it clear that I say it all with serious humility, knowing that I am recipient number one...
no, i hear you, and i think we all do--- it's so easy to stand up and do the right thing out of emotion in the first days of an emergency. like in our other situation, there has been a bit of a decline in enthusiasm b/c the power of urgency, the emotion of that instant, has faded: it seems to wear off.
thing is, i think it's also a good place to think about this as a "life lesson"-- there are bazillions of great, important causes that will tear at our hearts over time. for me, it was a pull between foreign and "local" missions--- continue to do the good work in ywam and learn and serve with some of the greatest people i have ever or will ever know, or come home and spend the rest of my life discipling/mentoring/doing whatever the Lord gives me to do. both things are excellent callings, and both things deserve committment-- but there came a time in my life where i had to decide which it was going to be. i had to get still and listen for the voice of the Lord. where, of all the many places my heart and mind would take me, should i spend my enthusiasm, my passion, investing my heart and mind and free time... it led me to knowing myself more deeply than i ever had up til then (i was about 25 or 26), led me to this community i love with all my heart (our town), and to the man i was meant to share it with all along. oh, and some of the most amazing friends ever (YOU are one of them!!). we could pour little bits of ourself into a hundred buckets, or pick the ones that grab our hearts (for me, the Uganda issue is enormous, but the part that fits with my calling is watching these teenagers GO FOR something they believe in, responding to injustice, making their voices heard-- i can get behind that all day long), and put our all into it. sometimes i wonder how Jesus picked who he was going to heal, what towns he was going to visit, and there are a bunch of rational answers, but one of them is simply this: bloom where you're planted. he listened for where the Lord told him to be, and he just went there. that's not to say his heart wasn't grieved over every other issue in the world, because i know it was. i just wonder at Him... he was in such close contact with his father.
i am so glad you're writing about this, and about the frustration part of it. and you, as always, express it with humility. one of the things i like so much about it, and about this forum, is that it reminds the rest of us about a) the issue and b) the fact that it should BE an issue.
you're awesome. i'm so glad you're around.
yeah, I guess I AM pretty awesome...
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