train

who is behind the hard exterior?

who is behind the distant gaze?

who is behind the kind eyes- that have seen much?

who is the man across the train?...

it's an interesting thing... riding the train.

it's about people... all strangers - all in their own world - all going about their own business...  and yet, there is a bond that i feel.  

a bond of commonality - not in how we look or act or probably even think.  but a bond that we are people - all trying to get from one place to another -  and although it may be small, we are coming together in a common purpose which in some odd way makes me feel like i know them... makes me feel like i have this unspoken connection with them... makes me think that maybe if i saw the man on the train again - that we could share a conversation about how the same God that loves me - loves him too... just maybe. 

i like the train...

hope

"but this is not the destruction of a hopeless people.  it is about hope in the midst of despair and intervention by God in a hell where escapes seems an impossible dream." -faith mcdonnell (Girl Soldier)

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i recently read the book Girl Soldier - a story of hope for northern uganda's children... an incredible account of one girls existence during the terrible reign of the LRA (lords resistance army) and the history around her emotional story. 

 

it brought me back to my time spent in uganda this past june... it reminded me of the sadness i felt for the people there who have endured so much... it brought tears to my eyes as i imagined the lives of my ugandan friends written into the pages of the book... it gave me a deeper understanding of those that have survived and forgave and overcame... it made me think.

it gave me hope...

because in the midst of despair - those that have so little, whose lives were threatened, those in which survival was hard even before the rebels came, those who persevered through unbearable circumstances - because in the midst...

they have hope.

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"there is a defiant set of the thin shoulders among the children who make their way into town with whatever meager belongings they have to help them get through the night.  the defiance shows even when those shoulders are stooped in despair and depression...

there is a defiance deep in their eyes, even though the beautiful brown eyes that should flash with spirit and humor are dulled by fear and monotony.  their is defiance in the strong, high, clear voices that can still laugh or sing sweet songs while a symphony of evil is circling their heads...

this defiance has not been lost in many children because it is a gift from God.  it is the strengthening of a child's will and the ability to preserve that comes from His unseen, and maybe unfelt, embrace.  it is his Holy Spirit that whispers to a child's spirit, 'you are not invisible to me.  i am your protector.' "  -faith mcdonnell (Girl Soldier)

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it is a hope that is within this defiance...

the people of uganda and the people in the townships here in south africa are not so different.  i can see this hope - as faint as it may be - in their eyes... and it is beautiful.  a quiet strength... holding onto God - the one constant. 

a hope that rises up saying - "God has not forgotten me".

Romans 5:5

"and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

*photo by Chelsea Gentry