Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Lenten Challenge, Day 28: Silence

Silence.

When it's truly achieved, it's such a place of tranquil stillness, isn't it? I wrote about hearing silence and being at peace in a previous post, and seriously considered skipping today's word, but I wanted to challenge myself to write about it from a different perspective.

What happens when silence isn't calm and peaceful and reassuring? What happens when silence is wrong?

When children are orphaned, abused or neglected.

When entire nations of people go hungry.

When kids commit suicide because they were bullied.

When more people are slaves today than any other time in history.

When injustice rears its ugly head, silence is unforgivable. I should be screaming with rage at the things listed above. Sometimes, I do. But most of the time? It's hard to break through the noise and distraction of my everyday routine. It's hard to think I can really make an impact on some of the world's biggest problems.

But I can provide some much-needed love to a small group of orphans in Russia. I can sort canned goods at my local food bank, teach my kids to stand up to bullies and donate to organizations that work to stop sex trafficking.

As Edward Everett Hale would have put it, "I cannot do everything, but I can still do something."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Appreciate your voice. Don't let it be silent.

Stephanie Mutert said...

I read your blog after God hijacked mine, and was so excited to see what a perfect combo they are...they need to be next to each other in the book! ;) Great, great job, friend!