Everywhere I look I see such brokenness! Broken relationships, broken people! Pain and despair! It can be overwhelming, when was the last time you heard an encouraging, uplifting story being reported on the news?
We are surrounded by images of a broken, hurting world. So often we try to drown out the screams and numb the pain by crowding our life with gadgets and hobbies, or we just become immune to it. It has been brought home to me lately as my 12-year-old son has become more aware of the world around him and is interested in current affairs. He wrestles with the question…’why does God allow suffering?’ and I find myself struggling to answer and wanting to shelter him from having to see the world we truly live in and protect him from experiencing pain.
But then I make a choice to look again, to look for beauty and hope and to dream…
I believe that beauty may be found in the broken places, that the voice of hope will shout louder than the voice of despair.
I believe that the lonely will experience love and acceptance, that the down trodden may find courage and strength.
I believe that those trapped by fear and anger may experience the freedom of peace and thankfulness.
I believe that I could be a bringer of light into the darkness and laughter in the midst of pain.
I believe that my children will see there is a Hope for this hurting world and that it can start with them.
For there is beauty and hope to be found in this world and as we choose to look for it and aspire to create it, it multiplies. So I prompt my son, what have we to be thankful for and who can we bring hope to today? Perhaps a drop in the ocean can become a wave!
