In the few minutes I have logged onto my handy dandy laptop, I have been notified three times of a tragedy by CNN. Chemical attacks. Elementary school shooting. Missles. As I scroll down my feed, I see angry, angry people. I'm angry too. I see suggestions that are reliable and should be put to the test, but unfortunately probably will never make it from a "what's on your mind?" box on Facebook. I see shock and a lot of fear. There are punches being thrown at leaders in our country, even at each other. Yet, I wonder in my little world.. what could I do about it?
You see, our President isn't a Savior. Whether you love him or hate him, he is going to mess up. He is going to fail. Probably a lot because he is just like you, and just like me but with a title before his name. Maybe you think a war is best, maybe not. That isnt the point.. the point is when is the last time you cared? I mean REALLY cared. Not cared so you could text your cousin and say, " told ya so." The kind of care where you see a world that is broken. Literally falling apart. Where your heart feels the burden for this world we call home. People who ,regardless of their belief system, matter. Regardless of their past, matter. Regardless of skin, country, financial status, whatever need somebody to just care. By throwing ourselves at our government pleading them to get it together, we shove it under the rug of our hearts. We shared it.. got a few likes.. gave our ignorant blurb and poof. Problem goes away right? And we go pick up our venti coffee and go to church.
In all of this I ask you, especially myself, when was the last time you prayed for Syria? When was the last time, Kalyn, that you took a second out of your day to try and understand the tradegy of the situation for yourself? When was the last time you looked at those countries and saw people who your God loves? What about your country, when's the last time you prayed for our schools? When is the last time you prayed for those families? For me, some and most of the answers is never.
Then, ask yourself how many times have you talked about the situation or shared it on social media? How many times have you had a gun ban talk? Or an arab country chat? Or bashed government decisions? What about talked about how unsafe refugees are.. to you and your family? For me, the answer is more than a few times. Usually in a defensive, attacking way. We are blindly walking through this life in our bubble of life.
Life isn't about what scares us or keeps us safe. Following Jesus is literally saying I will live an uncomfortable life because I want to follow Him. The rugs we shove this under can only hold so much. I cannot imagine feeling lost, broken, torn, abused, attacked, beaten, scarred, and hated in ways no one in America understands. Bombs, chemicals, people out to kill you every day. Paralyzing fear. Hopelessness. These men, women, kids.. they simply matter. It isnt more complicated than that. On their behalf, care. Really care. Really pray. Pay attention to the chaos and know you can do something. YOU.