Only Human

I was listening to NPR and they were describing the Somalian refugees fleeing their country's famine and violence to Kenya, where they are encountering another layer of violence and lack of food. Their are nearly 30,000 children under 5 dead as a result of this horror.

Rapper, Kaynon, a Somalian by birth, was being interviewed and asked if and how he would use his art and celebrity to bring awareness to, or somehow affect this crisis. His reply was quite outstanding, thought provoking, and authentically honest. 

"I am just a human being dealing with these circumstances." Profound.

We are just humans dealing with circumstances. But we don't have to go it alone. Yes, we have others to walk through valleys with us. Others who've worn our shoes and can provide wisdom. And this is good. But God Himself can be with us in our circumstances. No matter how horrific. We just need to ask and seek.

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever" (John 14:16). 

Not sure how this will help me make sense of 30,000 dead. I guess I could say that this is a result of sin in the world. And it may be. But I can't write it off as just that. There is a lot more at stake around us. A lot more places we can live into. A lot more people we can love. We just need to ask and seek them. Then act.

And I can just sit here. Safe in my suburban America. Yet atrocities abound around the world. Even next door if I am looking. Shame on me when I sit.