Hello? God? Are you there?
Like Thomas before me, I believe. But, I need you to help my unbelief.
I spend so much of my time looking forward to completing the task at hand.
Yet, when it’s done the joy is short-lived.
Swallowed up by the pressure of the next task to be completed; lost in the next desert of the unknown future.
As I scan the headlines I see stories of hope and stories of horror.
Hundreds of refugees survived a capsized boat off the coast of Libya, but seven lives were lost.
My heart aches for those whose names I will never know.
Lost from the story of history, torn from the body of humanity.
(insert own personal/community story) Then my mind spins back to the three-year-old from my home town battling for her life during the umpteenth surgery on her little heart.
Little in physical size, but how large in spirit. The community watches, prays, hopes…
But s/he cannot be the only little one struggling. I know her/his name, I know her/his family…
But who is praying for those countless other young lives?
Struggling, clawing, straining to find wholeness, health.
How can I pray for them when I don’t know who they are?
How can I pray when I can’t know, or even comprehend their struggles?
I am but one person, what difference can I make?
Maybe it’s not about praying for each and every problem around the world.
Maybe it’s not about making a difference in a million lives, or a thousand, or a hundred, or even ten.
Maybe it is that one life that matters.
The little girl whose little, broken, heart has broken mine.
The son whose father didn’t make the perilous journey across the ocean.
The mother who wonders what more she could have done to keep her son out of jail.
The woman who is pushed to the brink watching her sister slide ever-deeper into the prison of Alzheimer’s.
The man who confides in his friend about the sexual abuse, rape, and suicidal thoughts he experienced as a teen.
Their stories are repeated in a myriad of variations around the globe.
So, I cry out to you, Sovereign God, “WHERE ARE YOU?”
Then, just when all hope seems lost,
I turn to see your glory passing by…
in a hug from a friend,
in stories of changed lives in Uganda,
in reports of a vibrant discipleship program in Guinea,
in the sight of new calves being nurtured by their mothers…
And I remember, you are here.
Open the eyes of my heart, O God.
I want to see you.
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