I had shared part of this story a month ago from India. Since I’ve been home, it continues to stir my soul. If you have seen it before, please read again, it has an added message I pray will settle into your heart as it has mine ever since that moment.
When she comes and sits at your feet and looks into your eyes, she begins to speak. The voice of the translator softly fill your ears with her struggled attempt – stumbling to put into words as the tears came – to ask for prayer – and your heart struggles to keep up as the truth – her truth spills from her – her baby girl died. Then her baby boy. And she asks me – this crazy sweat drenched white woman from the other side of the world – she asks me to pray to my God for her. And the words barely come. And my precious friend who is translating takes over – and her words pour God’s love deep into the pain inside this grieving, broken woman. A young woman at that. God’s hope spilled, overflowing with abundance – into her. Into the women sitting so very close to her on the ground that day in the cow pasture in a tiny village in the middle of the rice fields in India. And it flowed over into my heart and will be carried back around to the other side of the world with me because that’s how big our God is. That’s how big His love is.
There have only been a few times in my life I have experienced such a helpless feeling. I wasn’t expecting this. I was so unprepared and have spent a lot of time since then rehashing and taking the experience apart to learn from it. I want to be present for this to happen again – God help me to be better prepared.
I wonder if we have become so inundated with stories every day that come at us at the speed of the nearest internet and the fastest cable network that when faced with the actual story unfolding in front of our eyes, our response is to be overwhelmed? Have we grown calloused or do we turn the channel because it didn’t happen in our hometown or to our family so let’s find a sitcom to take our mind off the horrors unfolding around the world everyday?
Disengage. Disconnect.
Self protect.
Or do we find a way.
A way that can touch one life. One day at a time.
The magnitude of the need in this world is overwhelming. But, my friends, we have to stop ourselves. Stop believing the lies that it doesn’t matter to us. We have to remember we do have a choice. We do have the ability to touch lives. Start small. Start with conversations with your kids and grandkids. With your neighbor at home or at work. Talk about real things.
Do not believe it doesn’t affect you – those stories from around the world. Because when you choose to engage – you choose to love. When you choose to love – you choose to change. When you change – the world around you – wherever you are – yes – love changes everything.
Later, we visited with her and she introduced another daughter to us. A precious two year old and laughed as she said her three year old daughter was somewhere near. Her laugh is what I remember last about her. I can’t wait to come back another day. Another time –
“Thank You Father for the opportunities we have here at home, around the world and wherever we stand right now. Thank You for giving us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to break and feel deeply. Help us when we feel unprepared or unequipped. Let Your love shine through. We love You Lord. Amen”