Haunted Hearts

A couple months ago Eddie and I watched the movie, "Blood Diamond". Shortly after that, I came upon the website www.eyesondarfur.org and found out about a similar bloodshed happening in this area of Sudan.

This last week I read more about the crisis in Darfur in Michael Frost's book "Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture.". In it, he specifies that the ethnic conflict in Darfur should be particularly compelling to Christ followers. Besides the overall desire for justice that should be part of following Jesus, this horrendous conflict is a result of ethnic fighting between Muslims and Christians. The goal of much of this fighting is the elimination of Christians from the oil-rich southern area of Sudan. The war, the conflict, whatever this bloody mess is has killed over 200,000, displaced over 2 million Sudanese and 230,000 displaced from Darfur into Chad as well as 110,000 displaced Chadians. The numbers go on and the numbers are overwhelming. But then I really get overwhelmed. Much of the warfare is against civilians. Women are raped and brutalized, children are killed in front of their parents, food and water supplies are being targeted and families are left with just enough provisions to starve to death...slowly.

So, then, what do we do? Honestly, my first response is to dive into despair. How can I impact people a world away. How can I continue living in my middle-class white suburban home, buying groceries at the local grocery store and buying my kids back-to-school clothes? How can I celebrate my children's birthdays, lavishing them with gifts and eating cake with much too much sugar in it. How can I continue?

Then, last night I read an article by Lynn Hybels from Mutuality magazine. In it she talks about playing with her 4-month old grandson. In the midst of their play time, she remembers Grandmothers in Africa who cannot play with their grandchildren because they are so busy collecting firewood or trying to provide a living for these young children orphaned by the AIDS crisis in that country.

As she progresses in the article, she addresses despair at the hurt rampant in the world. She says, "There are two antidotes to despair. One is denial. Pretending you didn't see that pictures. Didn't here those screams. Didn't read that story. Or maybe you acknowledge the horror of what you saw or heard or read, but you pretend it's not your responsibility. There's nothing you can do. What difference can one person make? And where would you start anyway? Denial works. But it shrinks your heart. It makes you a little less human. It puts distance between you and God. The other antidote to despair is action - doing something, anything, to address the need."

I cannot change the world, but I can start making changes in my life. I can take action for those hurting. I can change my habits and thought patterns to be more attuned to and ready to act on the needs around me.

Lynne Hybels says toward the end of her article something that made sense to me. She said, "I long for you - and me - to celebrate every day the joys of new babies and stuffed animals and swim meet victories and family love. But I also long for us to let our celebrations be a bit haunted by the desperate needs of our sisters and brothers around the world."

I long for a haunted heart.