This field will jade you. It will chew you up, spit you out and leave you sitting on the curb, spent. As a result, we attempt to poorly insulate ourselves, we learn to cope, we learn to deal with the evil and abuse around us, trying somewhat to disconnect just enough so we can find peace in the midst of the continual storm. And then, a child comes along and her story penetrates and smashes through every attempt of self insulation. Her hurt reawakens the primal and spiritual anger we should feel every time we hear about a child touched, a child abused. A holy indignation arises from our soul, an indignation that is aligned with the heart of the Creator…..and, in that moment we feel, we hurt, we mourn, we ask questions, we scream, we feel hopeless, we feel angry, and we should because every time a child is hurt or touched in a harmful way, I’m positive the Creator feels it too. I’m positive the Creator weeps, mourns, screams, yells, and is filled with anger. And, every time this happens, we are reminded of the evil and brokenness that is so prevalent in our society….the evil and brokenness that even wages war against our own souls — trying to steal, kill and destroy everything the Creator has worked so hard to create in me, in you, in this world. It is good to feel this way, it is good to be reawakened, it is good to feel the blood rapidly course through our veins as we grapple with such hurt and brokenness.

It is also good to be reminded, that for some reason, you and I were called into this place, into this field, into this brokenness. It is not by chance we find ourselves here; the Creator knew. He knew you and I would align with His heart and His emotion for these children. He knew we would get it. He knew amidst our grandest attempts to insulate ourselves that our core, our DNA, our soul would be awakened time and time again to feel, touch, sense, and hear our children’s stories. But, it wouldn’t just stop with hearing and seeing; He knew we would act. So, we find ourselves daily standing in the storm with evil and brokenness swirling around us, and we are given the task to move, respond, love, and create hope. We are given the task to climb up to the highest point and scream out, “Evil will never have the last word! NEVER!!” So, that is what we do, when evil and brokenness arise, we arise to answer them, not armed with answers, but with Hope, Faith, Love, and Belief that the Creator will redeem and restore. While the rest of the world zooms by, trying to turn their face away, we stop and answer the call, because it is who we are.

This field will jade you. It will chew you up, spit you out and leave you sitting on the curb, spent….and yet, the Creator, the children, the brokenness are all calling out for you. May we stand as individuals awakened and united to charge into the storm as those who are called and created to meet evil with hope, knowing the Creator goes with us, so that evil will never have the last word. Never!!

**These are some brief thoughts I wrote down while wrestling through some emotions/anger, etc. I was having regarding the story of a child we recently took into our emergency children’s shelter. May we all be reminded of the call, in the midst of complete brokenness….stay the course and be encouraged; Love wins, Hope wins, the Creator wins!