Monday, September 06, 2004

The Cries Of The World

It seems that everywhere we look these days there is another charity or relief organization crying out for money, volunteers, or just plain recognition. Now, I'm all for volunteering, I think it's our duty as human beings to help in any way possible. But to my ears, there is a far greater cry that is not being heard.

It's the cry of our children and our adults. It's a cry of desperation. It's a cry that most often isn't seen or heard. It's a hidden cry that is most often expressed anonymously. I recently stumbled onto a blog written by a girl in England. She diaries her journey and struggle with anorexia. I'm going to share a few of her words from a recent post.

"My mother drove me to my ED (eating disorder) in the first place, and now she is driving me back to it. First it started with me wanting her to love me and pay attention to me. I tried to be perfect for her. She always made comments about my weight. I wanted to be right for her."
"She tells me she has tried to help, that she has done all she can. But she doesn't see the obvious. I don't need her to cure me of my ED. Only I can do that. I need her to love me and hold me, to tell me that everything is going to be ok."

Let me qualify anything else I say later by first saying this. I am not going to give you the blog address because there is some questionable material on there, neither am I promoting the mindset behind modern psychology that she is expressing of blaming others for our problems. If we suggest she seek therepy, she will most likely go through a process of learning why she has this disorder and who to blame for it. Which she has already done. I think we need to take account for our own actions, while learning why we choose to do what we do. Yes, her mother may have contributed to her anorexia, but she made a choice, and is making a choice to continue. This doesn't mean that I'm not compassionate, it's simply a qualifier.

Now I would like to say this, my heart broke when I read her blog. Here is the hidden cry of a teenage girl seeking love and affection. Only to be heard by a complete stranger a continent away who can't do anything besides pray. In this blog is the cry of someone who is hungry and searching for something besides food to fill that hole. Those are the cries that we need to listen to. Broken and hardened people searching, and they don't even know what they're searching for. I wish I could be more than a stranger in the U.S. and be able to get ahold of this girl somehow, and tell her that someone does see her as beautiful. In fact, He made her just the way she is because she's so beautiful. I want to hold her and wash away all the pain and scars, and let her cry. But only God can do that, so I'll simply pray that He becomes known to her and she finds her identity in Him, not in her weight.

So today, let's listen to the unspoken cries of our world. I'm not recommending these books as the truth of God, or even as being plausible, but they're a good fiction read. "The Heart-Reader" and "The Heart-Reader at Franklin High" are two very good FICTION books about hearing the pain deep inside of other people.

I pray that we will see the pain in our dormmate/roomate/co-worker/friend/relative/aquaintence/church family/stranger's faces, and be the one who will finally listen to the unspoken cries. Let us not become so pre-occupied with our own lives, our own problems, and our own circles that we become blind to the needs of others.

"Lord, help us to hurt when others hurt. Break our hearts for the lost world Father. May we be you and show your love to the world. May the caring on our faces and in our hearts be a reflection of you. Help us to Love Father."

"Jesus to the World (Roaring Lambs)" By Newsong
A little girl who is hungry, Prays for something she can eat, A single mom doing all she can, Finds herself out on the street, Will we see their need and hear their cries, Look at our watch and just walk on by, Or will we stop and take the time, To be Jesus in their lives

Chorus: We need to be lambs that roar, We need to be eagles that soar, We need to be salt, We need to be light, We need to be Jesus to the world, We need to take love into the streets, Be willing to turn the other cheek, We need to be strong, We need to be weak, We need to be Jesus, Jesus to the world

Jesus came with a message, That would change the way we live, He showed us all by example, What the heart of heaven is, He saw our need and He heard our cry, He loved us so much that He gave His life, He taught us by his sacrifice How we should live our lives

repeat chorus

We need to be Jesus, Jesus to the world

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