Broken

Sometimes it seems like too much, that we'll be crushed by the continual barrage of bad news, buried by the losses and grief that life hurls at us.  There are too many images of pain, of violence, of senseless brutality.  This world of sound bites and reactions and noise won't let us rest.  Perhaps we've forgotten how to, or are afraid of the dreams that haunt us.

How long, O Lord?

They say it's getting worse all the time, but I can't be sure.  I only know what I've experienced, a growing awareness that pulls back the curtain to reveal that things are not always like they seemed, or like we had hoped.  But we have known brokenness for ages.  We have felt the separation that sin has created, turning us against one another, building walls of hatred and segregation.

What are we to do in a world that appears to be coming unhinged?  What can we do?

I think the first thing is to admit that we are all a little broken.  My pain may look different than yours but we all hurting.  In the beginning we were created whole and beautiful.  Maybe we have allowed the world to wreck us a bit, but our scars don't have to destroy us entirely.  Some of the strongest, most resilient people I know are those that carry the most crushing stories within their battered bodies.  But they are still standing; they carry an unlikely hope.  Rumi said that our wounds are how the light gets in.  Sometimes we are able to see that light, and sometimes we have to rely on others to shine a light for us.  Sometimes we can be that light to a dark world.

So shine bright, my friends, when you can, and I will try to shine the light for you when it's too hard for you to do.  Let's share our stories and realize that we are not alone in the darkness.  Let's listen for once to what really matters.  Not to the angry voices shouting the loudest, but to those still, small voices within us that remind us that we are loved, we are okay, and that it won't always be this way.  Let us work together when we feel strong enough to sift through the rubble around us and start building bridges instead of fences.  Perhaps we'll get to know our neighbors as we work together and make peace when we realize that we're not so different after all.

May we carry hope within us and hang on to the truth that what we see is not always reality.  May we make room for the mystery of God that surprises us with healing and resurrection.