We all see things.
We see the blue sky and clouds that dance for the glory of our King. We see the smiles on people’s faces at the park and the trees that waltz in the breeze.
We see birds agile and swift, people out for runs, teens on their cell phones at the mall, the latest billboards, and the glare of the stop light on the corner. We see texts and emails from our friends and invitations to dances and parties.
We see, but only what we want to see.
What we don’t see is the tears running down the cheeks of the abused, the whispered prayers for strength, and the pain-filled eyes of the teens whose father died from a heart attack.
We don’t see the shaking hands of the elderly as they try to eat on their own, the bruises on a girl’s wrist from her boyfriend, and the screams of the newborn baby who has been abandoned.
We don’t see the scarred arms of a boy in the cafeteria whose mother is a drug addict.
We don’t see the children in Uganda who have no fresh water or food.
We don’t see the faces of the people being sold into slavery or the lost souls who overdose.
To all this and more we choose to close our eyes, because it’s so much easier to do than to actually do something to stop the pain of the hurting.
When some heart-wrenching image comes up on the TV, we immediately reach over and turn it off. Why?
Because it is easier to turn a blind eye to the suffering than to feel guilty and convicted to do something about it.
In the area where I live there are a lot of homeless people. Whenever I am out and about I see two or three homeless people on the corners.
A month ago, I saw a mother and her baby sitting outside of my local Wal-Mart. She held a sign that read, “Homeless, please give money for my daughter, she needs diapers and food.”
My heart broke.
These are the hurting right in front of us. The ones who need a loving hand and a God that is bigger than their problems.
God loves and helps the broken and the lost, and He calls us to do the same. He calls upon us to open our eyes and see what He sees and not just what we want to see.
I know it is easier not to see, but we need to start seeing what Jesus sees and lovingly minister to the least of these.
Do not ignore the broken, and do not say that it’s too hard, because you have a God that is bigger than the enemy and is stronger than a rock.
Ask Him to pull back your blinders and enable you to see the hurting that is right in front of you so that you will be able to begin to make a difference.
Open your eyes…
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WOW! What an amazing article! This is something I’ve been thinking about lately as well, so this is spot on! Beautifully written! Thanks for sharing with us, Rebekah! 🙂
Thank Sara! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
You are most welcome! My pleasure…I always love to read great articles! 🙂
Thanks Rebekah!
Gosh… this was convicting. I needed this a ton, thank you for writing.
Wow, what an eye opening article! Thanks Rebekah!
This article stands out to me as one of the most concise yet touching pieces I’ve ever read. I’ve actually been thinking about this recently and am working on a song about it.
“Cause how can I fulfill my mission
Stuck up in my Christian prison
Never once looking out
To see the world
Cause I know I’m called to be
The hands and feet of Jesus
Love the orphan, heal the sick, feed the poor,
I don’t wanna be oblivious to hurting
Don’t wanna be blinded to the pain
I wanna love the broken
I wanna give them hope
I wanna show the world why life’s worth living
Cause there’s a greater purpose
Than all that’s dead inside
His name is Jesus”
I love your song Olivia! The lyrics are beautiful and I hope you have a chance to record it someday. 🙂 Thank you for your kind words and feedback.
lovely poem…
pain is my life and my gift from God. I see no reason why anyone would want to turn their eye from the pain in the world. I have a set of eyes that has been gifted to see things differently. Wish I had some way to find a way to help better locally though.
Very touching article, Rebekah! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Wow, oh wow! Great poem/song! Once you finish it are you gonna post it on youtube or something? I want to see the end product! 🙂
Thanks! I’m not sure yet. I might post it on youtube, or I might wait and hope that some day in the near future I’ll find somebody who’s better at guitar than I am and maybe a pianist too to perform them 😛
*claps hands* Love it! I really do! Lots of support from me, Erica. 🙂
And Rebekah, I love the article. There is a lot of hurt in this world, and sometimes we don’t really realize it until something like it happens to us. For example: I’ve always felt pity and sadness for the people you wrote about, but never really thought much about it really. That is, until I had my first seizure. Yup. That’s right. I, Brenna Daigle, have epilepsy. It’s nothing really major actually, it’s not as bad as others, but whenever I have a seizure, I black out, and when I wake up, I have a pounding headache, and all I want to do is cry and have Mommy hold me. That’s not all either. Most of the time, when I wake up, I find out that I’ve bitten my tongue… again. So, I have to talk with a least a little bit of a lisp, because if I just talk normally, it hurts. (Not only that, but I have to take a shower because I have spit and blood in my hair. Gross.) I always try to remind myself that there are others who have it worse than me. They may not have epilepsy, but they can still have it worse. There is a lot of hurt in this world. In homes, streets, schools, prisons, stores, asylums, other countries, and every single part of the world. Even in a paradise, there is still hurt. And if we don’t try and fix it, it will come back to haunt us.
Little Mikey D. was the one in class who everyday got brutally harassed
This went on for years until he decided that never again would he shed another tear
So he walked through the door, grabbed a four-four out of his father’s dresser drawer
And said I can’t take life no more
And like that life can be lost
But this ain’t even about that
All of us just sat back and watched it happen
Thinkin’ it’s not my responsibility to solve a problem that isn’t even about me
This is our problem
This is just one of the daily scenarios which we choose to close our eyes
Instead of doing the right thing
If we make a choice and be the voice for those who won’t speak up for themselves
How many lives would be saved, changed, and rearranged
Now it’s our time to pick a side
So don’t keep walkin’ by
Not wantin’ to intervene
’cause you wanna exist and never be seen
So let’s wake up and change the world
Our time is now
Hero by Superchick
I am so glad you liked it Brenna! Your comment was so, so, beautiful and I want to thank you for sharing your story with me. That takes courage and I admire that, thank you so very much for reading!
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