ah the irony

i'm working on a post about the need to take in the suffering of the world, digest it and act, but i'm struggling with apathy on numerous fronts...

maybe this late night push will help me move through that a bit. i guess the only way to conquer apathy most times is to grit your teeth and keep walking.

our arms

our arms ache Father
ache for the brothers and sisters we long to hug
ache under the weight of all we carry
ache as we once more stretch our hands to you in exhaustion

if i never again feel the warm breeze of California
if i never again feel the rush of Chicago wind
if i never again feel the south sea wind on my cheeks
will you come and carry this weight for a while?

i need your peace

Who can bear it?

Monday night I spent at least an hour watching a video about struggling abandoned children in Uganda. What thoughts are left after watching something like this? Numbness. Helplessness. Overwhelming helplessness. How can I deal with the flood of problems I hear of? Should I sell all I have? Should I go live among them and try to embrace each one at least once so that they can at least say that someone cares to cry with them? Perhaps.

This is the sometimes paralyzing struggle of the body in the developed world. When I know of the displaced and abused in Uganda, the suffering still crying in Rwanda, the AIDs-stricken in Asia, the homeless in the US, the widows in Russia, the slighted immigrant in Europe and the Pacific islander living in devistation who gets my attention? It's like the first visitor to an orphanage in a year. How do you love them all?

Maybe the answer is best summed up in the statement by Erwin McManus, "Just do something!" To pick up the closest child or the one who's shirt we recognize as from our favourite sports team first is better than spending an hour pondering the enormity of the problem.

Maybe the answer is best summed up in one take on Jesus' ministry. He came to this earth and lived thirty some years before going public. Good planning could ensure that each orphan has an equal amount of time that is more meaningful than a simple hug.

I don't know.