I just read on the same blog mentioned below that a fellow blogger passed away. I'd been praying for her for a while now. She was the mother of 10 kids and had been fighting a good battle with cancer. Please keep her husband and children in your prayers. I know they could use it right now! It's hard to believe I was in there place just 5 months ago. It's hard to wrap the mind around...
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Original Post:
This morning is a huge day. Bill Clinton has successfully rescued two journalists from North Korea and they are just arriving home. Not going to lie, I was a little concerned about his trip over there. I was skeptical he would be able to do it. And in the end, I should eat my words because he was successful. Watching them reuinte with their families is a very emotional/exciting thing and I am glad to be a part of it (and by that, I mean -- able to watch it play by play on the Today show)! Seriously, I'm sitting here on the bed with tears coming down my face. I can't imagine not seeing my family for 4 1/2 months, thinking it'd be 11 1/2 more years and spending it in a foreign country half way around the world. It's crazy to think about. It is definitely an important part of the United States and will be a part of our history.
And it's really interesting: my mother always tells me that I have seen more devestation than she ever has. One crazy lady from church keeps telling me the end of the world is coming any day because of all the devastation in the last several years. But, looking back on history - my parents saw a lot of devastation as well. They witnessed the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement, John F. Kennedy Assassination, Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination, Roe v. Wade, 1973 Oil Crisis, and Watergate. My parents saw a lot in their childhood/young adulthood. (I stopped their timeline shortly before they started having children).
In my life, there has been the first (Desert Storm) and second Iraqi War, the dot com bubble, and the 2001 terrorist attacks. I'm sure there will be more to come in my lifetime (unfortunately or fortunately?) but it is crazy to see that the world and society is always evolving. Maybe all the devastation wasn't as public to my parents or maybe they were sheltered but bad (and good) things still happened back then. Life isn't suddenly going to Hell in a hand basket as some would like you to believe, but negative things do continue to happen.
So what can we do? I, personally, do not want to sit back and just witness bad things happen. I want to make a difference. I blogged about The Rescue in April held by the organization Invisible Children. Invisible Children dot com is trying to spread the word of the children soldiers in Northern Uganda. Check it out -- you won't regret it. Another thing I wanted to bring to my readers' attention (all what? one or two of you?) is some more devastation in Africa. I follow a blog of a Christian mother of many and find a lot of comfort in her messages and she just posted about the abduction of 4 boys in Uganda. Check her blog post out. These poor boys are believed to have been kidnapped to be used in child trafficking. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about.
What makes the news today doesn't even touch the iceberg of what is happening in the world today. Thankfully, the media is drawing attention to some things - the war in Iraq, kidnapped reporters, economic struggles everywhere. Even more, thankfully there are organizations like Invisible Children trying to gain the publicity with the media of the struggle in Northern Uganda. I am itching to make a difference in this world and even though I may not have any idea yet on how, I know I can pray. I can pray for the hurt, the suffering, the grieving, the orphan, the homeless, the hungry. It's a start - a pretty good one I think. We'll see where I go from there...
This blogger brought the following scripture to my attention and it totally fits. Check it out:
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Matthew 25:34-40
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