A while ago during worship, we were given a range of photos to choose from and spend time with. I picked up this image of a small boy, smiling into the camera with his arm outstretched towards it. For some reason, this image really touched me and I remember being in tears just looking at it. I took the photo home and stuck it on the wall in my study, so I can see it every time I sit and have my quiet time. I called the little boy “Emmanuel”, which means “God is with us”.
The news at the moment is full of carnage and death. We hear the reports from Gaza and Israel and see the images of the blackened aeroplane crash site in Ukraine. These stories have knocked Syria and the Central African Republic out of the headlines, but atrocities there and in other places around the world continue each and every day. It is impossible to comprehend how it must be to live in these situations and it is easy to feel powerless or wonder where God is in all of this. Lyse Doucet, the chief international correspondent for the BBC has been covering the conflicts in Syria and in Gaza. She explained “The BBC has a duty to be impartial and report on all sides. However, I think it is ok to be on the side of the children, on the side of humanity.”
We are not powerless in these situations. Someone once said to me “In my work, sometimes I don’t feel like I am making a big difference, but I am making a difference”. We need to look at what we can do, and use that to make a difference. Do you enjoy baking? Sell some cupcakes and give the money to one of the organisations that is supporting the people fleeing from their homes or which is providing humanitarian aid. Do you write a good letter? Contact your local MP, or write to the Prime Minister, or the Ambassador of the relevant country. Our leaders will not know that we care about the suffering unless we tell them. Do you find it easy to pray? Perhaps there will be an image or a story that touches you. Focus in one human story and pray regularly for the people concerned. There is a quote which says “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” We might not feel as though we are doing much, but the situation will not change if we do nothing at all. The biggest thing we can do is to not forget these children, these people and their suffering. The photo of Emmanuel greets me every time I sit to pray. If we forget our sisters and brothers who are suffering, we lose part of our humanity too.
God bless
Cecilia
The news at the moment is full of carnage and death. We hear the reports from Gaza and Israel and see the images of the blackened aeroplane crash site in Ukraine. These stories have knocked Syria and the Central African Republic out of the headlines, but atrocities there and in other places around the world continue each and every day. It is impossible to comprehend how it must be to live in these situations and it is easy to feel powerless or wonder where God is in all of this. Lyse Doucet, the chief international correspondent for the BBC has been covering the conflicts in Syria and in Gaza. She explained “The BBC has a duty to be impartial and report on all sides. However, I think it is ok to be on the side of the children, on the side of humanity.”
We are not powerless in these situations. Someone once said to me “In my work, sometimes I don’t feel like I am making a big difference, but I am making a difference”. We need to look at what we can do, and use that to make a difference. Do you enjoy baking? Sell some cupcakes and give the money to one of the organisations that is supporting the people fleeing from their homes or which is providing humanitarian aid. Do you write a good letter? Contact your local MP, or write to the Prime Minister, or the Ambassador of the relevant country. Our leaders will not know that we care about the suffering unless we tell them. Do you find it easy to pray? Perhaps there will be an image or a story that touches you. Focus in one human story and pray regularly for the people concerned. There is a quote which says “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” We might not feel as though we are doing much, but the situation will not change if we do nothing at all. The biggest thing we can do is to not forget these children, these people and their suffering. The photo of Emmanuel greets me every time I sit to pray. If we forget our sisters and brothers who are suffering, we lose part of our humanity too.
God bless
Cecilia
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