Atrocities

I just finished watching Hotel Rwanda with Paul Rusesabagina and Les Milles Collines and it is a very well-done and gripping film. It also makes me angry to see the atrocities committed against innocent people, especially innocent children. There is so much violence, so much crime in today's world that it makes me sick. I can't understand how people can do such awful things. I was watching Dr. Phil interview a woman who stayed with her abusive husband, even when he was hitting her, and her 12-year old daughter was hanging onto the man, trying to stop him from hitting her mother, the woman still stayed. What kind of a society are we creating where it is even permissible for someone to strike another? Let alone kill? It is sickening and it is shameful. There are no words to describe it, but may every one of those people who were a part of the genocide in Rwanda, and every single person who has ever been a part of a horrific incident like this, may those people burn the longest when this earth is cleansed. It is still no consolation for the lives that were blotted out in moments. I wish films like Hotel Rwanda, Not Without My Children, God Grew Tired of Us, and others like this were requirements for everyone to watch, to become aware of what is really happening, so it would stop. It will never stop, though, I know that. As long as we live in this sick world, the rampaging will continue. One day it will turn against us. Will we be ready to stand for our faith and our belief in God?

To Be Valued

Hmmm, all day I have been thinking about what I shall blog about today. There are so many interesting things to write about, I'm really not sure where to start! I should probably look for a theme or something, but for now, I shall focus on whatever random thoughts come into my mind for the day. Today's post is one that is especially close to my heart: to be valued. To feel valued is one of the reasons we exist. Jesus had a purpose when He came—to fulfill His mission of salvation. God the Father expressed how much He valued Jesus' sacrifice a number of times, like when Jesus was baptized or on the Mount of Transfiguration. He valued Jesus' mission by validating the acts of service that Jesus performed, like feeding thousands of people or healing the sick. When a child's simple handmade gift is presented to their parent, and the parent exclaims in amazement at the child's handiwork, they are affirming the child and the child feels valued. As Christians, we are given something more, a yearning in our hearts to make a difference whether it is laboring in the mission fields of Africa or processing the paperwork that makes it possible for those missionaries to go out and lead souls to Christ. We long to feel valued in our service, to be affirmed that we are in the right path and that our acts of kindness are not going unseen. I am not speaking about selfish recognition; I am speaking about those simple moments of recognition that our deeds are not in vain. Imagine if you were a missionary in an orphanage in Mexico. Imagine that every day, you get up, feed the children, clothe them, bathe them, teach them, and help them with their little daily tasks. Now imagine that every single day, for an entire year, not one of those children would smile or say thank you. Their eyes wouldn't light up when they finally understood a math problem. Imagine that your coworkers would be silent and sullen every single day with no words of affirmation for what you were doing. Sounds quite depressing, right? It is. We were not created to be treated as mere machines, performing tasks that appear to be meaningless. We were not created to be treated as worthless, thrown aside and of no value. When God created us, He looked down and said it, we, were very good. True, sin has entered the world and messed up a lot of things for us. But amidst all of that, God has been continually and constantly holding out His hand and saying, "You are of value to me. Every time you struggle to do something right, it's just like you've presented me with a really special handmade gift, and I beam with pride, because you are My child." You know the timeless saying that goes like this "I asked Jesus, how much do You love me? He replied, this much, and stretched out His arms and died." Jesus stretched those arms out as far as they would go. He gave as much as He could give—everything—Himself. Because He values you. He sees your life and He sees the potential you have to truly make that difference that you are yearning for. So back to my original statement: to feel valued is one of the reasons we exist. Maybe, in the end, it isn't so much about how or if we feel valued by people in our lives (though that is very important and I shall write more about it some other time). Maybe, what really counts, is that we recognize the infinite value God placed on us when He created us. The value of a life, a Solitary Life, Jesus' life. There can be no greater value.

The very first

Okay, so here I am, joining the world of bloggers out there. Being the sanguine that I am, I'm always looking for ways to connect with people, though I'm still not sold on the whole virtual reality aspect of Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc. etc. ad nauseum. I periodically join one of the sites, get hooked for about a month or two (though Facebook took a little longer), and then give up and drop off the virtual planet until the itchings to "connect" come again. But seriously, though, what is it doing for society? There was an article not too long ago about the intelligence of college students who use Facebook on a regular basis. While they claim that it doesn't affect their studies, the conclusion was that their grades were consistently lower. Of course, one could argue, other unrelated factors could come into play, such as personality traits, so the verdict is still out on that one. You can read the article online at http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/facebookusers.htm. I'm contemplating this whole Facebook thing right now, even as I watch words forming on the screen and prepare to post my first blog that will, yet again, connect me to unknown faces tied to lives out there in the real world. I shall sign off for now, being known to be one who ramblez on, it is time to get back to work. To ya'll bloggers out there, a virtual hello and how'do'you'do (especially to LaVonne, tehehe) and till next time (which shall be very soon!).