Them and Us.....Us and Them

"I will give you treasures
hidden in dark
and secret places.
Then you will know that I,
the LORD God of Israel,
have called you by name." Isaiah 45:3

Our prayer room at the ministry has many different books scattered around through out the place for reading, or just meditating on. I came across a book the other day in there that caught my eye....and pierced my heart. "Hope in the Dark" by Jena Lee and Photography by Jeremy Cowart. Profound piece of work.

Jena's words capture so much of what is not spoken but felt inside of me:
"We know that American pity Africans" he told me. "But sometimes I think Africans pity Americans."
"How so?" I asked him.
"Americans seem to expect that everything will be provided for them. For us," he said, "this ear of corn is a gift from God. This evening's rain is a shower of mercy upon us. This healthy bread is life-giving. And, maybe tomorrow we will not have such things, but our hearts are so full from God's provision."


****Decisions I must make on any given day:
Blue shirt or pink cardigan
tall soy chai latte or grande carmel macchiato
write reports first or work on budget
text message or call
eat out or frozen dinner
reality television or headline news

****Decisions she must make on any given day
blue dress or blue dress
river water or puddle water
walk once for four hours to get water or walk twice for eight hours to get more water
sleep with the fisherman who will give food in return or let orphaned grandchildren go to bed hungry
persist through the struggle or give up
curse God or praise Him

"I stood within the filthy, shack-filled slum of Kibera while also looking up at the stunning clouds that danced across the vast stretch of the African sky. There is such tragedy and yet such beauty at the same time. Overwhelmed by the unsanity of this broken world, I find it diffcult to understand how the pieces of it all fit together. The same earth can hold the fragrance of a field of flowers while also occupying the stench of urine on hot concrete. Who is this God that we call Father, Creator, and Lord? Kenya is here....and so is God."


"What keeps us apart from one another? Some would say an ocean. Others would say cultural differences. What must we change about ourselves to break down the wall that separates us? I think it begins by abandoning the pointed finger of blame. It begins by coming with humble spirits and a sincere desire to know one another. Otherwise, it becomes an us/them mentality and the wall simple becomes thicker. Welcome to the face of a child who is so desperate for an embrace by the rest of the world"


What this book said to me:

Go out......search for the dark place with hidden tresures.....abandon the "us" and "them" mentality. Break down the thick walls that divide. It's not us.....It's not them...........It's lives....human lives....deep emotional lives....all of our hurts feel the same....all of our smiles look the same no matter what language we speak.....we are all the same.....our blood is all red.....no matter if our skin is all different.
Go out.....and break down the walls....
of
them...
of
us....
of us....
of
them.....

"Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows" Isaiah 1:17